This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project to make the world's books discoverable online. It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover. Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the publisher to a library and finally to you. Usage guidelines Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. We also ask that you: + Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes. + Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. + Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. + Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe. About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at http : //books . google . com/| Hosted by GoOgle V THE DORSCH LIBRARY. &]& The private I/ibrjiry oi Kdwanl l>ors«-h, M. I>., of Monroe, Michigan, presented to tin- lTni\ ersity ol Michi- gan hy his widow, May, 1NSK, in :ieenrdane<- wil h a wish expressed hy him. Hosted by VjOOQU? / • lo 31 . F4-8 ; R73 ■< Hosted by GoOgle 1 v, Hosted by GoOgle Hosted by Goo8-fe i Hosted by GoOgle THE HUMAN EACE. Hosted by G00gle Hosted by GoOgle Hosted by GoOgle S^lk^ nctoHh/C^OOOlp the 3 4! 21 HUMAN RACE. BY LOUIS FIGUIER ILLUSTRATED BY TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD, AND EIGHT CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS. NEW YORK: I). APPLETON AND CO., BROADWAY. 1873. Hosted by G00gle -J&. L-**_ Hosted by GoOgle CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. PAGE CHAPTER I. — Definition of Man — How he differs from other Animals — Origin of Man — In what parts of the Earth did he 'first appear? — Unity of Mankind, evidence in support — What is understood by species in Natural History — Man forms but one species, with its varieties or kinds — Classification of the Human Race 1 CHAPTER II. — General characteristics of the human race — Organic charac- teristics— Senses and the nervous system — Height — Skeleton — Cranium and face — Colour of the skin — Physiological functions— Intellectual cha- racteristics— Properties of human intelligence — Languages and literature — Different states of society — Primitive industry — The two ages of pre* historic humanity 21 THE WHITE EACE. CHAPTER I. EUROPEAN BRANCH 41 TEUTONIC FAMILY 41 LATIN FAMILY 66 SLAVONIAN FAMILY . . 113 GREEK FAMILY » . . . . 149 CHAPTER II. " ARAMEAN BRANCH 163 LIBYAN FAMILY 163 SEMITIC FAMILY 183 PERSIAN FAMILY . . . ' . . . • • • 190 GEORGIAN FAMILY 203 CIRCASSIAN FAMILY 203 Hosted by G00gle vi CONTENTS. . THE YELLOW EACE. CHAPTER I. PAGE HYPERBOREAN BRANCH 206 LAPP FAMILY 206 SAMOIEDE FAMILY 209 KAMTSCHADALE FAMILY 209 ESQUIMAUX FAMILY 211 TEMISIAN FAMILY . 217 JUKAGHIRITE AND KORIAK FAMILIES 217 CHAPTER II. MONGOLIAN BRANCH 218 MONGOL FAMILY 218 TUNGUSIAN FAMILY 223 YAKUT FAMILY 223 TURKISH FAMILY . . 229 CHAPTER III. SINAIC BRANCH 254 CHINESE FAMILY 256 JAPANESE FAMILY 302 INDO-CHINESE FAMILY 324 THE BEOWN EACE. CHAPTER I. HINDOO BRANCH 336 HINDOO FAMILY 339 MALABAR FAMILY ..••.,,„ 354 Hosted by G00gle CONTENTS. vii CHAPTER II. PAGE ETHIOPIAN BRANCH 355 ABYSSINIAN FAMILY 355 FELLAN FAMILY 363 CHAPTER III. MALAY BRANCH 365 MALAY FAMILY 365 POLYNESIAN FAMILY 380 MICRONESIAN FAMILY 400 THE RED RACE. CHAPTER I. SOUTHERN BRANCH 407 ANDIAN FAMILY 407 PAMPEAN FAMILY 419 GTTARANY FAMILY 433 CHAPTER II. NORTHERN BRANCH 452 SOUTHERN FAMILY 452 NORTH-EASTERN FAMILY • 460 NORTH-WESTERN FAMILY 492 THE BLACK RACE. CHAPTER I. WESTERN BRANCH • : 495 CAFFRE FAMILY 495 Hosted by G00gle viii CONTENTS. WESTERN BRANCH— continued. HOTTENTOT FAMILY NEGRO FAMILY . . . . 500 PAGB HOTTENTOT FAMILY 498 CHAPTER II. EASTERN BRANCH 518 PAPUAN FAMILY 518 ANDAMAN FAMILY 531 Hosted by G00gle LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. THE WHITE RACE. PIG. PAGE 1. — MEN AND WOMEN OF ANATOLIA 5 2. — SAMOIEDES OF THE NORTH CAPE 7 3. — WAKE OF ICELANDIC PEASANTS IN A BARN .... 42 4. — WOMEN OF STAVANGER, NORWAY 43 5. — CITIZEN OF STAVANGER 44 6. — COSTUMES OF THE TELEMARK (NORWAY) 45 7.— WOMEN OF CHRISTIANSUND (NORWAY) 46 8. — BOY AND GIRL OF THE LAWERGRAND (NORWAY) ' . . . . 47 9, 10. — SUABIANS (STUTTGARD) 48 11, 12. — SUABIANS (STUTTGARD) 50 13. — BAVARIANS . 52 14. — BADENERS 53 15. — ENGLISHMAN 63 16. — DRUIDS, GAULS, AND FRANKS 70 17.— FRENCHMAN 75 18.— CATTLE-DEALER OF CORDOVA . . 81 19. — NATIVES OF TOLEDO 83 20. — SPANISH PEASANT 84 21. — A MADRID WINE-SHOP 85 22. — SPANISH LADY AND DUENNA 88 23. — THE FANDANGO . . * 89 24.— THE BOLERO 91 25. — FISH VENDORS AT OPORTO 92 26. — ROMAN PEASANT GIRL 94 Hosted by G00gle x LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG. PAGE 27.— ROMAN PEASANTS 95 28. — YOUNG GIRL OP THE TRANSTEVERA 96 29.— STREET AT TIVOLI 98 30. — A CARDINAL ENTERING THE VATICAN 99 31. —EXALTATION OP POPE PIUS IX 100 32. — A MACARONI SHOP AT NAPLES 103 33.— NEAPOLITAN ICED- WATER SELLER 104 34.— NEAPOLITAN PEASANT WOMAN 104 35. — ITINERANT TRADER OF NAPLES 105 36.— AN ACQUAJOLO, AT NAPLES 106 37.— WALACHIAN 108 38. — LADY OF BUCHAREST 110 39. — WALACHIAN WOMAN Ill 40.— NOBLE BOSNIAK MUSSULMAN * . . . 112 41.— RUSSIAN SENTINEL, RIGA 115 42. — RUSSIAN DEVOTEES, RIGA 117 43. — TRAPPIC IN ST. PETERSBURG 121 44. —A RUSSIAN TAVERN 122 45.— INTERIOR OF AN ISBA 123 46.— LTVONIAN PEASANTS 124 47. — TARTAR OP KASAK 125 48. — TARTAR OP THE CAUCASUS 126 49. — TARTAR OP THE CAUCASUS . . . ... . . .127 50. — RUSSIAN NORTH-SEA PILOT 128 51.— OSTIAK HUT 130 52. — ISIGANE OF VOAKOVAR 131 53.— SLAVONIAN PEASANT 132 54. — A PEASANT OP ESSEK 133 55.— HERDSMEN OF THE MILITARY CONFINES . . . ... 135 56.— WOMAN OF THE MILITARY CONFINES 136 57.— GRANZERS, AND THEIR GUARD-HOUSE 138 58. — TSIGANE PRISONER . . . 139 59.— BOSNIAK PEASANT 142' 60.— BOSNIAK PEASANT WOMAN 143 61.— BOSNIAK MERCHANT 144 Hosted by G00gle LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. xi FIG. PAGE 62. — WOMEN OP PESTH 145 63. — HUNGARIANS 146 64. — A HUNGARIAN GENTLEMAN 147 65. — HUNGARIANS 148 66. —GREEKS OF ATHENS 151 67. — A GREEK HOUSEHOLD 153 68. — INTERIOR OF THE AGORA AT ATHENS 156 69.— FJ&TE OF THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER, ATHENS .... 159 70. — ALBANIAN WOMAN 161 71. — MOORISH COFFEE-HOUSE AT SIDI-BOW-SAID, NEAR TUNIS . . 164 72. — GRINDING WHEAT IN THE KABYLIA 169 73.— KABYLE JEWELLERS 171 74.— KOPTS OF THE TEMPLE OF KRANAH 175 75.— A FELLAH WOMAN AND CHILDREN 177 76. — A FELLAH DONKEY BOY 178 77. — A LADY OF CAIRO . 181 78.— ALMA OR DANCING GIRL . . . ... . . . 182 79. — WANDERING ARABS 185 80. — JEW OF BUCHAREST 186 81. — BEYROUT 187 82.— MARONITES OF LIBANUS 189 83. — HADY-MERZA-AGHAZZI . . 192 84. — PERSIAN TYPES 194 85. — PERSIAN NOBLEMEN 195 86. — PERSIAN WOMEN 196 87.— LOUTY AND BAKTYAN . . . 197 88. — AN ARMENIAN DRAWING-ROOM 200 89.— GEORGIANS 202 THE YELLOW KACE. 90. —LAPLANDERS 207 91. — A LAPP CRADLE 209 92.— SAMOIEDES 210 Hosted by G00gle xii LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG, PAGE 93. — ESQUIMAUX SUMMER ENCAMPMENT ...... 212 94.— -ESQUIMAUX WINTER ENCAMPMENT 213 95. — ESQUIMAUX VILLAGE 214 96.— ESQUIMAUX CHIEF 215 97.— ESQUIMAUX BIRD-CATCHER 216 98.— YOUNG ESQUIMAUX 217 99.— A MONGOL TARTAR . . 219 100. — BURIATS ESCORTING MISS CHRISTIANI 222 101.— MANCHUS SOLDIERS 224 102. — YAKUTS 225 103. — A YAKUT WOMAN 227 104.— YAKUT VILLAGERS 230 105.— YAKUT PRIESTS 231 106.— TURCOMAN ENCAMPMENT 234 107.— KIRGHIS FUNERAL RITES 237 108.— A HAREM 241 109.— A HAREM SUPPER 243 110.— TURKISH LADIES VISITING 245 111.— A TURKISH BARBER 249 112. — TURKISH PORTER 251 113. — INDO-CHINESE OF STUNG TRENG 254 114. — INDO-CHINESE OF LAOS . . 255 115. — A YOUNG CHINESE . . . 257 116.— CHINESE SHOPKEEPER 258 117.— CHINESE LADY 259 118.— CHINESE WOMAN 260 119.— mandarin's daughter 261 120.— chinese boudoir 264 121. — chinese sitting-room 269 122.— OPIUM-SMOKERS 271 123. — CHINESE AGRICULTURE 273 124.— CHINESE FISHING 275 125.— THE CUSTOM-HOUSE AT SHANGHAI 277 126.— CHINESE BONZE . 281 127.— CHINESE SCHOOLMASTER 283 Hosted by G00gle LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xiii PIG. PAGE 128. — CHINESE LOCOMOTION 285 129. — A CHINESE PLAY , 289 130.— A CHINESE JUNK 291 131. — CHINESE BEGGARS 293 132.— CHINESE PUNISHMENTS 295 133. — CHINESE PUNISHMENTS 296 134. — A CHINESE COURT OF JUSTICE 297 135.— CHINESE SOLDIERS 299 136.— CHINESE TROOPER . 300 137. — THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA 301 138. — JAPANESE f 304 139.— A JAPANESE FATHER " 305 140. — JAPANESE SOLDIER 306 141. — JAPANESE NOBLE ........ t . 307 142. — JAPANESE PALANQUIN , . 311 143. — THE ta'icoon's GUARDS 315 144. — A LADY OF THE COURT 317 145. — A KAMIS TEMPLE, JAPAN ........ 321 146. — JAPANESE PAGODA 323 147. — BURMESE NOBLES 325 148. — BURMESE LADY 326 149.— WOMEN OF BANKOK 327 150.— SIAMESE DOMESTIC 328 151.— SIAMESE LADIES DINING . . ' 329 152. — TOMB OF A BONZE, AT LAOS 330 153.— CAMBODIANS 331 154. — THE PRINCE-ROYAL OF SIAM . . . . . . . . 333 155. — CHINESE GIRL „ 334 THE BROWN RACE. 156.— NATIVES OF HYDERABAD 337 157. — A BANIAN OF SURAT 338 158. — AN AGED SIKH 339 Hosted by G00gle xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG. PAGE 159. —A PARSEE GENTLEMAN . . .' 341 160.— SIR SALAR JUNG, K.S.I 343 161.— NAUTCH GIRL OF BARODA 345 162.— A COOLIE OF THE GHATS 347 163.— PAGODA AT SIRRHINGHAM 349 164.— PALANQUIN 352 165. — ABYSSINIAN • 355 166. — NOUERS OF THE WHITE NILE 356 167. — A NOUER CHIEF 358 168.— CHIEF OF THE LIRA 359 169.— MALAY "RUNNING A MUCK " 367 170.— MALAY 369 171.— JAVANESE 369 172. — JAVANESE DANCING GIRLS . . . ... . . 371 173. — JAVANESE WEDDING 372 174.— DYAKS 377 175.— A DYAK HUT . 379 176. — NEW ZEALAND CHIEF 383 177.— NATIVE OF TAHITI . . 393 178.— NATIVE OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS 398 THE BED KACE. 179.— HUASCAR, THIRTEENTH EMPEROR OF THE INCAS . . . 408 180.— COYA CAHUANA, EMPRESS OF THE INCAS 409 181.— AN ANTIS INDIAN 411 182.— AN ANTIS INDIAN 412 183. — SUMMER SHED OF THE ANTIS 413 184. — ANTIS INDIANS FISHING 414 185.— PERUVIAN INTERPRETER . . . .... 415 186.— ARAUCANIAN . . . 417 187.— PECHERAY HUTS 418 188.— PATAGONIAN 422 189.— A PATAGONIAN HORSE SACRIFICE . . . . ' . .423 Hosted by G00gle LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xv PIG. PAGE 190. — A BOLIVIAN CHIEF 426 191. — A BOAT ON THE RIO NEGRO ....... 429 192. — EXAMINADOR OF CHILI 432 193. — A PARAGUAYAN MESSENGER 437 194.— BRAZILIAN NEGRO 440 195. — INDIAN WOMAN OF BRAZIL 441 196. — NATIVE OF MANAOS, BRAZIL . . . . . . . . 443 197. — BRAZILIAN NEGRESSES 445 198. — BRAZILIAN DWELLING 446 199. — NEGROS OF BAHXA 447 200. — NATIVES OF FRENCH GUYANA . . . . •• . . . . 449 201.— BOTOCUDOS . .451 202. — INDIAN OF THE MEXICAN COAST1 453 203, 204.— INDLANS OF THE MEXICAN COAST 454 205.— MEXICAN INDIAN WOMAN 456 206. — MEXICAN PICADOR 457 207.— THE ROLDAU BRIDGE MARKET, MEXICO 458 208. — MEXICAN HATTER 459 209. — MEXICAN HAWKER 459 210. — CREEK INDIANS 463 211. — ENCAMPMENT OF SIOUX INDIANS . 465 212. — SIOUX WARRIOR 466 213. — A SIOUX CHIEF 467 214. — CROW INDIANS IN COUNCIL 470 215. — PAWNEE INDIANS 473 216.— A CHAYENE (SHIENNES) CHIEF 475 217.— A YUTE CHIEF 477 218. — CHOCTAW INDIANS PLAYING BALL 479 219. — COMANCHE INDIANS 481 220. — A COMANCHE CAMP 482 221. — A BUFFALO HUNT 483 222. — MOHAWK INDIANS . 485 223.— FLAT-HEAD INDIANS 487 224.— NAYA INDIANS 489 225.— A CROW CHIEF * . . . 491 Hosted by GoOgle LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. THE BLACK RACE. PIG. PAGE 226.— A CAFFRE 496 227.— NATIVE OF THE MOZAMBIQUE COAST 497 228. — THE HOTTENTOT VENCS . . ■ 499 229.— A ZANZIBAR NEGRO 503 230. — ZANZIBAR NEGRESSES 507 231. — A NEGRO VILLAGE . 511 232.— FISHING ON THE UPPER SENEGAL 513 233. — A ZAMBESI NEGRESS 515 234.— THAKOMBAU, KING OF THE FIJI ISLANDS 520 235.— NATIVE OF FIJI 521 236.— NATIVE OP FIJI 522 237. — A TEMPLE OF CANNIBALISM * . . . 523 238. — A FIJIAN DANCE 525 239. — YOUNG NATIVE OF NEW CALEDONIA 527 240.— NATIVE OF NEW CALEDONIA 529 241.— ENCAMPMENT OF NATIVE AUSTRALIANS 533 242.— NATIVE AUSTRALIAN 535 243.— AN AUSTRALIAN GRAVE 536 Hosted by G00gle THE HUMAN EACE. INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I. Definition of Man — How he differs from other Animals— Origin of Man— In what parts of the Earth did he first appear ?— Unity of Mankind, evidence in snpport — What is understood by species in Natural History — Man forms hut one species, with its varieties or kinds — Classification of the Human Race. What is man ? A profound thinker, Cardinal de Bonald, has said : " Man is an intelligence assisted by organs." We would fain adopt this definition, which brings into relief the true attribute of man, intelligence, were it not defective in drawing no sufficient distinction between man and the brute. It is a fact that animals are intelligent and that their intelligence is assisted by organs. But their intelligence is infinitely inferior to that of man. It does not extend beyond the necessities of attack and defence, the power of seeking food, and a small number of affections or passions, whose very limited scope merely extends to material wants. With man, on the other hand, intelligence is of a high order, although its range is limited, and it is often arrested, powerless and mute, before the problems itself proposes. In bodily formation, man is an animal, he lives in a material envelope, of which the structure is that of the Mammalia ; but he far surpasses the animal in the extent of his intellectual faculties. The definition of man must therefore establish this relation which animals bear to ourselves, and indicate, if possible, the degree which separates them. For this reason we shall define man : an organized, intelligent being, endowed with the faculty of abstraction. -* To give beyond this a perfectly satisfactory definition of man is Hosted by G00gle 2 THE HUMAN KACE. impossible : first, because, a definition, being but the expression of a theory, which rarely commands universal assent, is liable to be rejected with the theory itself ; and secondly, because -a perfectly accurate definition supposes an absolute knowledge of the subject, of which absolute knowledge our understanding is incapable. It has been well said that a correct definition can be furnished by none but divine power. Nothing is more true than this, and were we able to give of our own species a definition rigorously correct, we should indeed possess absolute knowledge. The trouble we have to define aright the being about to form the subject of our investigation is but a forecast of the difficulties we shall meet when we endeavour to reason upon and to classify man. He who ventures to fathom the problems of human nature, physical, intellectual or moral, is arrested at every step. Each moment he must confess his powerlessness to solve the questions which arise, and at times is forced to content himself with merely suggesting them. This can be explained. Man is the last link of visible creation ; with him closes the series of living beings which we are permitted to contemplate. Beyond him there extends, in a world hidden from our view, a train of beings of a new order, endowed with faculties superior and inaccessible to our comprehension, mysterious phalanxes, whose place of abode even is unknown to us, and who, after us, form the next step in the infinite progression of living creatures by whom the universe is peopled. Situate, as he is, on the confines of -this unknown world, on the very threshold of this domain, which his eye, if not his thoughts may not penetrate, man shares to some extent the attri- butes belonging to those beings who follow him in the economy of nature. Doubtless, it is this which makes it so difficult for us to comprehend the actual essence of man, his destiny, his origin and his end. These reflections have been called for in order to supply an explanation of the frequent admissions of helplessness which we shall be obliged to make in this cursory Introduction, when we investigate the origin of man, the period of his first appearance on the globe, the unity or division of our species, the classifica- tion of the human race, &c. If to many of these questions we reply with doubt and uncertainty, the reader must not lay the blame at the feet of science, but must search for the cause in the impenetrable laws of nature. Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 3 And first, whence comes man ? Wherefore does he exist ? To this we can make no reply, the problem is beyond the reach of human thought. But we may at least enquire, since this question has been largely debated by the learned, whether man was at once constituted such as he is, or whether he originally existed in some other animal form, which has been modified in its anatomical structure by time and circumstances. In other words, is it true, as has been pretended by various of our con- temporaries, that man is the result of the organic improvement of a particular race of apes, which race forms a link between the apes with which we are familiar and the first man ? We have already treated and. discussed this question more fully in the volume which preceded this. We have shown, in "Primitive Man," that man is not derived, by a process of organic transformation, from any animal, and that he includes the ape not more than the whale among his ancestry ; but that he is the product of a special creation. Nevertheless, whether its creation be special or the result of modification, the human species has not always existed. There is, then, a first cause for its production. What is this ? Here is again a problem which surpasses our understanding. Let us say, my readers, that the creation of the human species was an act of God, that man is one of the children of the great arbiter of the universe, and we shall have given to this question the only response which can content at once our feelings and our reason. But let us summon questions more accessible to our compre- hension, with which the mind is more at ease, and upon which science can exercise its functions. To what period should we refer the first appearance of man upon the globe ? In "Primitive Man " we have answered this question as far as it can be. We have con- sidered the opinion of some writers who carry the first ajopearance of man as far back as the tertiary period. Rejecting this date on account of the insufficiency of the evidence produced, we, in common with most naturalists, have admitted, that man appeared for the first time upon our globe at the commencement of the quaternary period, that is to say, before the geological pheno- menon of the deluge and previous to the glacial period which preceded this great terrestrial cataclysm. To fix the birth of man in the tertiary period would be to travel out of facts now B 2 Hosted by G00gle 4 THE HUMAN RA<3e. within the ken of science, and to substitute for observation, conjecture and hypothesis. By saying that man appeared for the first time upon the globe at the commencement of the quaternary period, we establish the fact, which is agreeable to the cosmogony of Moses, that man was formed after the other animals, and that by his advent he crowned the edifice of animal creation. At the quaternary period almost all the animals of our time had already seen the light, and a certain number of animal species existed, which were shortly to disappear. When man was created, the mammoth, the great bear, the cave tiger, and the cervus megaceros, animals more bulky, more robust and more agile than the corresponding species of our time, filled the forests and peopled the plains. The first men were therefore contemporary with the woolly elephant, the cave bear and tiger ; they had to contend with these savage phalanxes, as formidable in their number as their strength. Nevertheless, in obedience to the laws of nature, these animals were to disappear from the globe and give place to smaller or different species, whilst man, persisting in the opposite direction, increased and multiplied, as the Scripture has said, and gradually spread into all inhabitable countries, taking possession of his empire which daily increased with the progress of his intelligence. In " Primitive Man " we have given the history of the first steps of humanity. We have traced the origin and progress of civilization, from the moment when man was cast, feeble, wretched and naked, in the midst of a hostile and savage brute population, to the day when his power, resting upon a firm basis, changed little by little the face of the inhabited earth. We shall not refer to this at greater length, since in " Primitive Man " we have treated it fully, and in unison with the actual dis- coveries of science. But there is a very different problem to the solution of which we shall apply ourselves in the following pages. Did man see the light at any one spot of the earth, and at that alone, and is it possible to indicate the region which was, so to say, the cradle of humanity? Or, are we to believe that, in the first instance, man appeared in several places at the same time? That he was created and has always remained in the very localities he now inhabits? That the Negro was born in the Hosted by G00gle 6 THE HUMAtf KACE. burning regions of Central Africa, the Laplander or the Mon- golian in the cold regions to which he is now confined ? To this question a satisfactory reply can be given by reference to facts furnished by natural history. But in seeking a triumph for our opinion we shall have to combat the arguments of a hostile doctrine. As we said in the early part of this Introduc- tion, we must ever be prepared to encounter difficulties, to dissipate uncertainties, and to vie with other theories in each point of the history of humanity which we may seek to fathom. There is a school of philosophers who assert that man was manifold in his creation, that each type of humanity originated in the region to which it is now attached, and that it was not emigration followed by the action of climate, circumstances, and customs which gave birth to the different races of man. This opinion has been upheld in a work by M. Georges Pouchet, son of the well-known naturalist of Eouen. But, one has only to read his essay upon la jpluralite cles races humaines, to be convinced that the author, like others of his school, as ardent in demolition as powerless in construction, having chosen to act the easy part of a critic, exhibits unprecedented weakness when called upon to supply a system in the place of that he contradicts. If there existed several centres of human creation, they should be indicated, and it should be shown that the men who dwell there now-a-days have never been connected with other popula- tions. M. Georges Pouchet preserves prudent silence upon this question; he avoids defining the locus of any one of these supposed multiple creations. Such a faulty argument speaks volumes for the doctrine. We, on our part, think that man had on the globe one centre of creation, that, fixed in the first instance in a particular region, he has radiated in every direction from that point, and by his wanderings coupled with the rapid multiplication of his de- scendants, he has ultimately peopled all the inhabitable regions of the earth. In order to demonstrate the truth of this proposition, we will examine what takes place in connection with other organized beings, that is to say, with animals and plants, and then apply this class of facts to man : this is observation and induction, the only logical process to which we can here resort. Hosted by G00gle 5*7" S^M v ; ^ ' r>- . 1 . . / ,.■• MM^^ *>yr --''It** how it is that man, as he was first created, has given birth to races so widely different as the white, black, yellow, brown, and red which people the earth at the present day. We can but furnish a general explanation of what we see in the widely vary- ing conditions of existence, and in the opposite character of the media through which man, for ages past, has dragged his existence, frequently with much difficulty and uncertainty. If the dog, the horse, the rabbit, and the turkey, through the agency of human industry applied to them during a period of scarcely two thousand years, have given birth to so many varieties, how much more would man, whose appearance upon the globe is of such antiquity that we cannot assign to it even approximatively a date — man, whose fate it has been to pass through so many different climates, such various physical and social positions, expect to see his own type become modified and transformed ? We should, with more reason, feel surprised at finding that the differences between one variety and another are not much wider than they appear to be. In order to avoid this argument, there remains to the supporters of the plurality of human kind no alternative but to regard man as an exception in nature ; to assert that he has laws Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 17 peculiar to himself, and that the principles which pervade the life of plants and animals can in no way apply to him. But man, who is an organized and living being, and is furnished with a body that differs but little from that of any mammiferous animal, is, so far as concerns his organization, subject to the universal laws of nature, and that of intermixture among the rest. It is therefore impossible to admit the question of exception raised by those who deny the unity of the human species. The principle that the human species is one, and what follows as a natural conclusion, namely, that all men who inhabit the earth are but races or varieties of this one species, will, there- fore, appear to the reader to be satisfactorily established. These different races which originate in one species, the primitive type having been modified by the operation of climate, food, soil, intermixture and local customs, differ, it must be admitted, to a marvellous extent, in their outward appearance, colour and physiognomy. The differences are so great, the extremes so marked and the transitions so gradual, that it is well- nigh impossible to distribute the human species into really natural groups from a scientific point of view, that is to say, groups founded upon organic characteristics. The classification of the human races has always been the stumbling block of anthropology, and up to the present time the difficulty remains almost un- diminished. A cursory examination of the various classifications which have been brought forward by the most important of those who have essayed the task will make this truth apparent to all. Buffon, in his chapter upon man, a work which we can always read again with admiration and advantage, contents himself with bringing forward the three fundamental types of the human species which have been known from the first under the names of the white, black and yellow race. But these three types in them- selves do not exemplify every human physiognomy. The ancient inhabitants of America, commonly known as the Red-Skins, are entirely overlooked in this classification, and the distinction between the Negro and the white man cannot always be easily pointed out, for in Africa the Abyssinians, the Egyptians, and many others, in America the Californians, and in Asia the Hindoos, Malays and Javanese are neither white nor black. Hosted by G00gle 18 THE HUMAN RACE. Blumenbach, the most profound anthropologist of the last century, and author of the first actual treatise upon the natural history of man, distinguished in his Latin work, De Homine, five races of men, the Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethiopian, Malay and American. Another anthropologist, Prochaska, adopted the divi- sions pointed out by Blumenbach, but united under the name of the white race, Blumenbach's Caucasian and Mongolian groups, and added the Hindoo race. The eloquent naturalist Lacepede, in his Histoire naturelle de V Homme, added to the races admitted by Blumenbach the hyper- borean race, comprising the inhabitants of the northern portion of the globe in either continent. Cuvier fell back upon Buffon's division, admitting only the white, black and yellow races, from which he simply derived the Malay and American races. A naturalist of renown, Virey, author of V Histoire naturelle du Genre humain, V Histoire naturelle de la Femme, and of many other clever productions upon natural history and particularly anthro- pology, gave much attention to the classification of the human races. But he was not favourable to the unity of our species, being led to entertain the opinion that the human species was twofold. This was the starting point of an erroneous deviation in the ideas of naturalists who wrote after Virey. We find Bory de Saint Vincent admitting as many as fifteen species of men, and another naturalist, Desmoulins, doubtless influenced by a feeling of emulation, distinguished sixteen human species, which, more- over, were not the same as those admitted by Bory de Saint Vincent. This course of classification might have been followed to a much greater extent, for the differences among men are so great, that if strict rule is not adhered to, it is impossible to fix any limit to species. Unless therefore the principle of unity has been fully conceded at starting, the investigation may result in the admission of a truly indefinite quantity. This is the principle which pervades the writings of the most learned of all the anthropologists of our age, Dr. Pritchard, author of a Natural History of Man, which in the original text formed ten volumes, but of which the French language possesses but a very incomplete translation. Dr. Pritchard holds that all people of the earth belong to the Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION, 19 same species ; he is a partisan of the unity of the human species, but is not satisfied with any of the classifications already pro- posed, and which were founded upon organic characteristics. He, in fact, entirely alters the aspect of the ordinary classifications which are to be met with in natural history. He commences by pointing out three families, which, he asserts, were in history the first human occupants of the earth : namely the Aryan, Semitic, and Egyptian. Having described these three families, Pritchard passes to the people who, as he says, radiated in various direc- tions from the regions inhabited by them, and proceeded to occupy the entire globe. This mode of classification, as we have pointed out, leaves the beaten track trodden by other natural historians. For this reason it has not found favour among modem anthropologists, and this disfavour has reacted upon the work itself, which, not- withstanding, is the most complete and exact of all that we possess upon man. Although it has been adopted by no other author, Pritchard's classification of the human race appears to us to be the most sound in principle. M. de Quatrefages, in his course of anthropology at the Museum of Natural History, Paris, makes a classification of the human race based upon the three types, white, yellow and black ; but he appends to each of these three groups, under the head of mixed races attached to each stem, a number of races more or less con- siderable and arbitrary which were excluded from the three chief divisions. The classification of M. de Quatrefages will be found in his Rapport sur les progres de V Anthropologic, published in 1867. * It is extremely learned and well worked out, but a classification which entirely passes by the simple mode of reasoning we shall adopt in the following pages. The classification of the human race which we propose to follow, modifying it where in our opinion it may appear to be necessary, is due to a Belgian naturalist, M. d'Omalius d'Halloy. It acknowledges five races of men : the white, black, yellow, brown and red. This classification is based upon the colour of the skin, a characteristic very secondary in importance to that of organization, * In 4° forming part of the Rapports sur les progress des Sciences et des Zettres en France, published under the auspices of the Minister of Public Instruction. c 2 Hosted by G00gle 20 THE HUMAN KACE. but which yet furnishes a convenient framework for an exact and methodical enumeration of the inhabitants of the globe, per- mitting a clear consideration of a most confused subject. In the groups, therefore, which we shall propose, the reader will fail to find a truly scientific classification, but will meet with merely such a simple distribution of materials, as shall permit us to review methodically the various races spread over every portion of the Earth's surface. Hosted by G00gle CHAPTER II. General characteristics of the human race — Organic characteristics — Senses and the nervous system — Height — Skeleton — Cranium and face— Colour of the skin — Physiological functions — Intellectual characteristics — Properties of human intelligence — Languages and literature — Different states of society — Primitive industry — The two ages of prehistoric humanity. Before entering upon a minute description of each of the human races, we shall find it well to lay before the reader a generalization of the characteristics which are common to all. Since man is an intelligent being, living in an organized frame, our attention has to be directed to the consideration of his organs and intellect, that is, in the first place, we must investigate the physical, in the second, the intellectual and moral elements of his constitution. The physical characteristics bear but secondary importance among those of the human race. Man is a spirit which shines within the body of an animal, and the only difficulty is to ascer- tain in what manner the organism of the mammalia is modified in order to become that of man ; to compare the harmony of this organism with the object in view, namely the exercise of human intellect and thought. We shall see that the organs of the mammalia are greatly modified in the human subject, becoming, either on account of their individual excellence or the harmony of their combination, greatly superior to the associations of the same organs among animals. Let us first consider the brain and organs of sense. "When we examine the form and relative size of the brain in ascending the series of mammiferous animals, we find that this organ increases in volume, and progresses, so to say, toward the superior characteristics which it is to display in the human species. Disregarding certain exceptions, for the existence of which we cannot account, but which in no way alter the general rule, the Hosted by G00gle 22 THE HUMAN KACE. brain increases in importance from the zoophyte to the ape. But, in comparing the brain of the ape with that of man, an important difference becomes at once apparent. The brain of the gorilla, orang-outang, or chimpanzee, which are the apes that bear the greatest resemblance to man, and which for that reason are designated anthropomorphous apes, is very much smaller than that of man. The cerebral lobes in man are much longer than in the anthropomorphous apes, and their vertical measure is out of all proportion with the height of the cerebral lobes in apes ; this is what produces the noble frontal curve, one of the characteristic features of the human physiognomy. The cerebral lobes are connected behind with a third nervous mass called the cerebellum. The large volume of these three lobes, the depth and number of convolutions of the encephalic mass, and other anatomical details of the brain, upon which we are unable here to treat at greater length, place the brain of man very far above that of the animal nearest to him in the zoological scale. These differences bear witness in favour of man to an unparalleled intellectual develop- ment, and we should be better able to measure these differences, were we able to show in what the cerebral action consists, but this we are utterly unable to do. The senses, taken individually, are not more developed in man than they are in certain animals; but in man they are cha- racterised by their harmony, their perfect equilibrium, and their admirable appropriation to a common end. Man, it will at once be admitted, is not so keen of sight as the eagle, nor so subtle of hearing as the hare, nor does he possess the wonderful scent of the dog. His skin is far from being as fine and im- pressionable as that which covers the wing of a bat. But, while among animals, one sense always predominates to the dis- advantage of the rest, and the individual is thus forced to adopt a mode of existence which works hand in hand with the develop- ment of this sense, with man, all the senses possess almost equal delicacy, and the harmony of their association makes up for what may be wanting in individual power. Again, the senses of animals are employed only in satisfying material necessities, while in man, they assist in the exercise of eminent faculties whose development they further. Let us consider shortly in detail our senses. Man is certainly better off, as regards the sense of sight, than Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 2Z a large majority of animals. Instead of being placed upon different sides of his head, looking in opposite directions, and receiving two images which cannot possibly be alike, his eyes are directed forwards, and regard similar objects, by which means the impression is doubled. The sense of sight thus brings to his conceptions a complete image and solid idea of what surrounds him ; it is his most useful sense, the more so when it is guided in its application by a clear intellect. The sense of touch in man reaches a degree of perfection which it does not attain in animals. How marvellous is the sense of touch when exercised by applying the extremities of the fingers, the part of the body the best suited to this function, and how much more wonderful is the organ called the hand, which applies itself in so admirable a manner to the most different surfaces whose extent, form, or qualities, we wish to ascertain ! A modern philosopher has attributed to the hand alone our intellectual superiority. This was going too far. We find enthusiasm allied with justice in the views expressed in the excellent pages which Galen has consecrated to a description of the hand, in his immortal work De usic partium. "Man alone," says Galen, "is furnished with hands, as he alone is a participator in wisdom. The hand is a most mar- vellous instrument, and one most admirably adapted to his nature. Eemove his hand, and man can no longer exist. By its means he is prepared for defence or attack, for peace or war. What need has he of horns or talons ? With his hand, he grasps the sword and lance, he fashions iron and steel. Whilst with horns, teeth and talons, animals can only attack or defend at close quarters, man is able to project from afar the instruments with which he is armed. Shot from his hand, the feathered arrow reaches at a great distance the heart of an enemy, or stops the flight of a passing bird. Although man is less agile than the horse and the deer, yet he mounts the horse, guides him, and thus successfully hunts the deer. He is naked and feeble, yet his hand procures him a covering of iron and steel. His body is unprotected against the inclemencies of climate, yet his hand finds him a convenient abode, and furnishes him with clothing. By the use of his hand, he gains dominion and mastery over all that lives upon the earth, in the air, or in the depths of the sea. From the flute and lyre with which he amuses Hosted by G00gle 24 THE HUMAN EACE. his leisure, to the terrible instruments by means of which he deals death around him, and to the vessel which bears him, a daring seaman, upon the bosom of the deep — all is the work of his hand. "Would man without hands have been able to write out the laws which govern him, or raise to the gods statues and altars ? Without hands could he bequeath to posterity the fruit of his labours, and the memory of his deeds? Could he (had man been created handless) converse with Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the different great men, children of bygone ages ? The hand is then the physical characteristic of man, in like manner as intelligence is his moral characteristic.,, Galen, having shown in this chapter the general formation of the hand and the special disposition of the organs which compose it ; having described the articulations and bones, the muscles and tendons of the fingers ; and having analyzed the mechanism of the different movements of the hand, cries, full of admiration for this marvellous structure : "In presence of the hand, this marvellous instrument, cannot we well treat with contempt the opinion of those philosophers who saw in the human body merely the result of a fortuitous con- course of atoms ! Does not everything in our organization most clearly give the lie to this false doctrine ? Who will dare to invoke chance hi explanation of this admirable disposition ? No, it is no blind power that has given birth to all these marvels. Do you know among men a genius capable of conceiving and exe- cuting so perfect a work ? There exists not such a workman. This sublime organization is the creation of a superior intelligence, of which the intellect of man is but a poor terrestrial reflection. Let others offer to the Deity reeking hecatombs, let them sing hymns in honour of the gods ; my hymn of praise shall be the study and the exposition of the marvels of the human frame ! " The sense of hearing, without attaining in man the perfection which it reaches in certain animals, is nevertheless of great deli- cacy, and becomes an infinite resource of instruction and pure enjoyment. Not only are differences of intonation, intensity, and timbre, recognised by our ear, but the most delicate shades of rhythm and tone, the relations of simultaneous and successive sounds which give the sentiment of melody and harmony, are appreciated, and furnish us with the first and most natural of the arts — music. Thus the perfection and delicacy of our senses, Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 25 which permit of our grasping faint and slightly varying impres- sions, the harmony of these senses themselves, their perfect equilibrium, their capability of improvement by exercise, place us at a considerable distance above the animal. Let us now pass to the bony portion of the human body, and consider first of all the head. The head is shared by two regions, the cranium and the face. The predominance of either of these regions over the other, depends upon the development of the organs which belong to each. The cranium contains the cerebral mass, that is, the seat of the intellect ; the face is occupied by the organs appertaining to the principal senses. In animals, the face greatly exceeds the cranium in extent ; the reverse is, however, the case with 'man. It is but rarely that with him the face assumes importance at the expense of the cranium — in other words, that the jaws become elongated, and give to the human face the aspect of a brute. We find in works upon anthropology some expressions which call for an explanation here ; they are frequently employed, since they enable us to express by a single term the relation which exists between the dimensions of any particular skull. The term dolicJwcephalous (from the Greek bokixos, long, KecjxxXrj, head,) is applied to a cranium which is elongated from front to rear, or, to express the idea numerically, the cranium whose longitudinal diameter bears to its vertical diameter the proportion of 100 to 68. A short cranium is styled brachycephalous (from fipaxvs, short, Kzcjxxkrj, head,) which term is applied when the relation between the longitudinal and vertical diameiters is 100 to 80. The attribute of length or shortness of the cranium is of less importance than is generally believed. All Negroes, it is true, are dolichocephalous ; but it must not be supposed from this that the production backwards of the cranium is an indication of in- feriority ; since in the white race, heads are sometimes very long and sometimes very short. The North Germans are dolicho- cephalous; those inhabiting Central Germany being brachycepha- lous. This characteristic cannot therefore be regarded as a criterion of intellectual excellence. There is in the human face an anatomical characteristic of greater importance than any taken from the elongation of the cranium ; that is, the projection forwards, or the uprightness of Hosted by G00gle 26 THE HUMAN KACE. the jaws. The term prognathism (from irpb, forward, and yv&Oos, jaw,) is applied to this jutting forward of the teeth and jaws, and orthognathism (from 6p0b$, straight, yrjados, jaw,) to the latter arrangement. It was long admitted that prognathism, or projection of the jaws, was peculiar to the Negro race* But this opinion has been forced to yield to the discovery, that projecting jaws exist among people in no way connected with the Negro. In the midst of white populations this characteristic is frequently met with; it is occasionally found among the English, and is by no means rare at Paris, especially among women. Prognathism would appear to be characteristic of a small European race dwelling to the south' of the Baltic Sea, the Esthonians, and which itself is but the residue of the primitive Mongolian race to which we have alluded in our work, "Primitive Man," as being the first race which, according to M. Pruner-Bey, peopled the globe. It is probably the mixture of Esthonian blood with that of the inhabi- tants of Central Europe, which causes the appearance in our large cities of individuals whose faces are prognathous. We cannot close our remarks upon the face without speaking of a curious relation between it and the cranium, which has been much abused; we allude to the facial angle. By facial angle is meant the angle which results from the union of two lines, one of which touches the forehead, the other of which, drawn from the orifice of the ear, meets the former line at the extremity of the front teeth. The Dutch anatomist Camper, after having compared Greek and Roman statues, or medals of either nationality, assumed that the cause of the intellectual superiority which distinguished Greek from Roman physiognomies was to be found in the fact, that, with the Greeks, the facial angle is larger than in Roman heads. Starting with this observation, Camper pursued his enquiries until it occurred to him to advance the theory that the increase of the facial angle may be taken in the human race as a sign of superior intelligence. This observation was correct, insomuch as it separated men from apes, and carrion birds from other birds. But its application to different varieties of men, as a measure of their various degrees of intelligence, was a pretension doomed to be sacrificed to future investigations. Dr. Jacquart, assistant-naturalist in the Museum Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 27 of Natural History at Paris, calling to his aid an instrument he invented, by which the facial angle is rapidly measured, has, in our day, made numerous studies of the facial angle of human beings. M. Jacquart found that this angle cannot be taken as a measure of intelligence, for he observed it to be a right angle in individuals, who, with respect to intelligence, were in no way superior to others whose facial angle was much smaller. M. Jacquart went so far as to show, that, in the population of Paris alone, the facial angle varies between much wider proportions than those imposed by Camper as charac- teristic limits of human varieties. The measure of the facial angle, therefore, is far from bearing the importance which has long been ascribed to it ; but this does not go to prevent its application, with advantage, in ordinary cases, when races of men are required to be distinguished from one another. Erect carriage is another of the characteristics which dis- tinguish the human species from all other animals, including the aPe> by whom this position is but rarely assumed, and then accidentally and unnaturally. Everything in the human skeleton is calculated to ensure a vertical posture. In the first place, the head articulates with the vertebral column at a point so situated that, when this vertebral column is erect, the head, by means of its own weight, remains supported in equilibrium. Besides this, the shape of the head, the direction of the face, the position of the eyes, and the form of the nostrils, all require that man should walk erect on two feet. If our body were intended to assume a horizontal position, everything connected with it would be out of place : the crown of the head would be the most advanced part, and this would operate most detrimentally to the exercise of sight; the eyes would be directed toward the earth; the nostrils would open backward ; the forehead and the' face would be beneath the head. Moreover, the whole muscular system and all the tendons are, in man, auxiliary to erect posture, without mentioning the curves which occur in the vertebral column, and the exceptional formation of the limbs, &c. J. J. Rousseau was, therefore, very far from right, when he contended that man was born to go on all fours. Hosted by G00gle 28 THE HUMAN KACE. The height of men, as well as the colour of their skin, are characteristics which must not be overlooked, since they are of importance as distinctive attributes of different races. And first, with regard to height, the differences which this incident may present in the human species have been greatly exaggerated. Much allowance must be made in admitting what has been written with respect to dwarfs, and what has been alleged concerning giants. The Greeks believed in the existence of a people they called Pygmies, but whose place of abode they always omitted to point out. These were very small people, who were entirely hidden from view when they entered a field of standing wheat, and who passed much of their time in resisting the attacks of Cranes. The same fable was revived in more modern times, with reference to a people supposed to live in the island of Madagascar, who were styled Kymes. But Pygmies and Kymes are equally fabulous. Antiquity tells us of giants, but without forming them into a separate race. It is rather in modern times that the exist- ence of races of human giants has been put forward. In the sixteenth century, when Magellan had doubled Cape Horn and discovered the Pacific Ocean, a companion of this navigator, Pigafetta, gave an altogether extraordinary description of the Patagonians, or inhabitants of the Tierra del Fuego. He made giants of them. One of his successors, Leaya, adding yet more to the height of the Patagonians, assigned to these men a stature of from three to four metres. Modern travellers have reduced to accurate proportions the exaggerated statements of ancient navigators. The French naturalist Alcide d'Orbigny actually measured a large number of Patagonians, and found that their height, on an average, was about lm73. This, then, is about the limit of the height which is reached by the human species. With reference to the extreme of smallness we are able to arrive at this by referring to the Bushmen who inhabit Southern Africa. An English traveller, Barrow, measured all the mem- bers of a tribe of Bushmen, and found that their average height was lm-31. The human species, therefore, varies in height to the extent of about 0m-42, that is to say, the difference between the height Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 29 of the Patagonians and that of the Bushmen. It is well to make this ohservation whilst we are upon this subject, since the supporters of the theory of a plurality of human races have invoked these differences in height in support of the multiplicity of the races of humanity. It is clear that, among animals, races vary in height to a much greater extent than they do with man ; there is, by comparison, a much greater difference in size between a mastiff and a dog of the Pyrenees, than there is between a Bushman and a Patagonian. As regards the colour of the skin of the human race, we find it necessary to say a few words, since we propose to take this as the basis of our classification. The colour of the skin is a very convenient characteristic to fix upon in order to identify the various races, since this quality is peculiarly adapted to suggest itself through the eye. Its scientific importance must, however, by no means be exaggerated. Certain individuals, though they be members of the White or Caucasian Bace, may yet be very darkly tinted. Arabs are often of a brown colour, which nearly approaches black, and yet they possess the finest marks of the White or Caucasian Bace. The Abyssinians, although very brown, are not black. The American Indians, whom we rank as members of the Bed Bace, often have dark brown or almost black skins. Among members of the White Bace in northern latitudes, especially women, the skin has often a yellowish tint. We must add that the colour of the skin is often difficult to fix, since the shades of colour merge into one another. All this must be said in order to show how difficult it is to form natural groups of the innumerable types of our species. It would be for us now to speak of the physiological charac- teristics of the human race ; but our consideration of this subject will be limited to a few words, since the condition of physiological functions is almost identical among all men, whatever be their race. There is, nevertheless, an important difference, well worthy of note, presented by the nervous system when we compare the two extremes of humanity, namely, the Negro and the white European. In the white man, the nervous centres, that is the brain and spinal cord, are of much greater volume than they are in the Negro. In the latter the expansions from these nervous Hosted by G00gle 30 THE HUMAN KA€E. centres, that is, the nerves properly so called, have relatively a greater volume. A similar difference, quite on a par with this, exists in the circulatory system. In the white man, the arterial system is more developed than the venous; the reverse is the case with the Negro. Lastly, the blood of the Negro is more viscous, and of a deeper red than that of the white man. With the exception of these general differences, the great physiological functions proceed in the same manner among all races of men. The differences are not remarked except when secondary functions are compared, but these differences then assume proportions of some consideration. Climate, customs, and habits are the causes of these variations in the secondaiy functions, which at times become so similar as to permit of confusion in the most opposite races. Let a member of the white race be thrown into the midst of wild Indians, become a prisoner of the red-skins, and share their warlike existence in the midst of forests, we shall see that the sense of sight, as also that of hearing, will attain in this individual the same perfection which they enjoy in his new companions. It is by virtue of the prodigious flexibility of our organism, and of our powers of imitation and assimilation, that the physiological functions of secondary importance become capable of such modification. The intellectual and moral characteristics are those which take the lead in man. Not only are we unable to pass them over in silence in the general study of the human race, but much more importance must be assigned to them than to mere corporeal characteristics. If the naturalist, when he studies an animalr makes a point, when he has described his structure and organism, of considering his habits and manner of life, how much more should he, when treating of man, dwell upon his intellectual faculties, the stamp which so truly identifies our species. Man makes use of language as the means of expressing his intelligence. If man is provided with the power of speech, which he has in common with no other animal, it is owing to the fact that in him intelligence is infinitely more developed than in the animal. It is through the simultaneous concurrence of all his senses that the faculty of speech is manifested in man ; and the proof of this is, that through the absence of one of his senses, he loses this faculty. What is meant by a person born dumb ? It is Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 31 an individual similar in all respects to speaking man, but differing from him in this, that he came into the world perfectly deaf. The primary absence of the power of hearing has paralysed the child's intelligence with special reference to his imitative faculty, and in fact, the person called deaf and dumb is originally simply a person born deaf. Language, then, is but the expression of the highest intelli- gence. " Animals have a voice," says Aristotle, "but man alone speaks." Nothing can be truer than this statement of the immortal Greek philosopher. It is well known how the languages and dialects spoken in the world have multiplied; and, indeed, nothing is more difficult than to classify all the languages and dialects that exist. This diffi- culty becomes more insurmountable when we consider that languages vary in course of time to a very considerable extent. The French of Eabelais and Montaigne, who wrote at the time of the Renaissance, is not very intelligible to us, and that of French chroniclers at the time of St. Louis can only be understood by studying it specially and with a dictionary. Modern Italians read Dante with great difficulty, and the same may be said for the English as regards their great writer Shakespeare. Languages then alter very rapidly, even though the people themselves remain stationary. The alterations are much more serious and rapid when two peoples amalgamate. These considerations are sufficient to convey an idea of the problem which scholars have propounded in wishing to ascertain the language of primitive humanity. It may be said that such a problem is incapable of solution. We must therefore despair of finding the mother tongue, and limit ourselves to those which are her offspring. Upon a comparison of these last, it has been decided to assign to three fundamental groups all the languages which have been, and are still, spoken on the earth ; these are, as we have already said, monosyllabic, agglutinative and inflected languages. Chinese is the most decided example of a monosyllabic language. Each word comprises but one syllable, and has an absolute meaning in itself. Recourse must be had to the compli- cated combination of a quantity of utterances in order to impress all modifications of thought, all distinctions of time, place, person, condition, &c. One marvels to hear that the Chinese language Hosted by G00gle 32 THE HUMAN BACK comprehends such an immense numher of words, that the life of a single man of letters is not sufficiently long to allow of his learning all. This apparent wealth is but the most utter poverty. This language, whose vocabulary is infinite, is simply detestable. To its imperfection must be attributed the smallness of the progress which the people of Asia have made in the direction of intelligence and commerce. Agglutinative languages, which are spoken by Negroes, as also by many people of the yellow race, are the first degree of perfection in human speech. In these the word is no longer unique ; variable terminations attached to each word modify the primitive expression. They contain roots and words whose function it is to modify these roots. The third and last degree of perfection in human speech is found in inflected languages. Those languages are so called, in which the same word is capable of modification a great number of times, in order to express the different shades of thought, and to translate changes of time, person, or place. Inflected languages are made up of a series of different terms, the number of which is by no means large, but the modification of which, by means of adjuncts, or through the position they occupy, are indeed innu- merable. All European languages, and those spoken in Asia by people of the white race, are inflected. If spoken language is the first element which served to con- stitute human societies, fixed, that, is written language, has been the fundamental cause of their progress. By means of writing, one generation has been enabled to hand down to the other the fruits of their experience and investigation, and thus to lay the foundation of primitive science and history. The first forms of writing were mere mnemonic signs. Stones cut to a certain fashion, pieces of wood to which a conventional form had been imparted, and such like, were the first signs of written language. One of the most curious forms of mnemonic writing has been met with both in the Old and New Worlds ; it consisted in joining little bundles of cord of different colours, in which were tied knots of various kinds. Whoever ties a knot in his handkerchief in order to recall to mind some fact or intention, makes use, without knowing it, of the primitive form of writing. An advance in writing consisted in representing pictorially Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 33 objects which it was wished to designate. The wild Indians of North America still make use of these rough representations of objects, as a means of imparting certain information. This very system is rendered more complete, when the design is supplemented by a conventional idea. If prudence is indicated by a serpent, strength by a lion, and lightness by a bird, we here at once recognize writing properly so called. This last form of writing is known as the symbolical or ideographic. Symbolical writing existed among the ancients. The hiero- glyphics which are engraved upon the monuments of ancient Egypt, and those which have been found upon Mexican remains, belong to symbolical writing. And yet this is not writing in the true sense of the word, which does not exist until the conventional signs, of which use is made, correspond with the words or signs of the language spoken, and can actually replace the language itself. By the alphabet, is meant the collection of conventional signs corresponding to the sounds which form words. The alphabet is one of those inventions which have called for the greatest efforts of the human mind, and it is not without good reason that Greek mythology deified Cadmus, the inventor of letters. The same admiration for the inventors of alphabets is, moreover, exhibited among all ancient nations. It is not only through its immense superiority as regards extent and power, that the intelligence of man is distinguished from that of the brute ; there is an attribute of intelligence which is strictly peculiar to our species. This is the faculty of abstraction, which permits of our collecting and placing together the perceptions of the mind, by that means arriving at general results. It is through this power of abstraction, that our intellect has created the wonders which are familiar to all ; that the arts and sciences have been brought to light and fostered by society. In connection with the faculty of abstraction, we must allude to the moral sense, which is a deduction from that same property. The moral sense is a special attribute of human intelligence, and it may be said that through this attribute, man's intellect is dis- tinguished from that of animals ; for this characteristic is mosf truly peculiar to the mind of man, and is nowhere found among animals. Hosted by G00gle 34 THE HUMAN RACE. Among all people, and at all times, the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood, has been recognized. The abstract idea of moral good and moral evil may certainly differ in different people : one may admire, what the other detests ; in one nation, that, may be held in good repute, which, in another, is a criminal offence ; yet, after all, the abstract notion of evil and good, does not cease to exist. Observance of the right of property, self- respect, and regard for human life, are to be found among all nationalities. If man, in his savage state, occasionally casts aside these moral notions, it is in consequence of the social con- dition of the tribe to which he belongs, and must be regarded in connexion with the customs of war and the feeling of revenge. But, in a state of tranquillity and peace, which condition the philo- sopher and student must presuppose in framing then- arguments, the notion of evil and good is always to be found. The forms which the feeling of honour dictates, vary for example in the white man and the savage, but the feeling itself is never eradi- cated from the heart of any. The religious feeling, the notion of divinity, is another charac- teristic which has its origin in the faculty of abstraction. This sentiment is indissolubly allied to human intelligence. Without wishing, with an eminent French anthropologist, M. de Quatre- fages, to make of religiosity a fundamental attribute of humanity, and a natural characteristic of our species, we may say that all men are religious, that they acknowledge and adore a Creator, a Supreme God. Whether the statement that certain people, such as the Australians, Bushmen, and Polynesians, are atheists, as we are assured by some travellers, and whether the reproaches bestowed upon them in consequence of this, are well-founded, or whether it is the fact that the travellers who bore this testimony understood but little of the language and signs of these different people, as has been suggested by M. de Quatre- fages, are matters of relatively slight importance. The state of brutality of certain tribes, buried in the midst of inaccessible and savage countries, and the intellectual imperfection which follows, concealing from them the notion of God, are nothing when com- pared with the universality of religious belief which stirs in the hearts of the innumerable populations spread over the face of the earth. Language and writing gave birth to human associations, and Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 35 later on, to civilization, by which they were transformed. It is curious to follow out the progressive forms of human association, and point out the stages which civilization has passed through in its forward march. Primitive societies assumed three successive forms. Men were in the first instance, hunters and fishers, then herdsmen, and lastly husbandmen. We say, populations were first of all hunters and fishers. The human race then inhabiting the earth, was but small in number, and this explains it. A group of men gaining their livelihood simply by hunting and fishing, cannot be com- posed of a very large number of individuals. A vast extent of territory is required to nourish a population, which finds in game and fish its sole means of subsistence. Moreover, this manner of living is always precarious, for there never is any certainty that food will be found for the morrow. This continual pre- occupation in seeking the means of subsistence, brings man nearer to the brute, and hinders him from exercising his intellect upon ennobling and more useful subjects. Hunting is, moreover, the image of warfare, and war may very easily arise between neighbouring populations who get their living in the same manner. If in these eventual collisions, prisoners are taken, they are sacrificed in order that there may be no additional mouths to feed. So long, therefore, as human societies were composed only of hunters and fishers, they were unable to make any intellectual progress, and their customs, of necessity remained barbarous. The death of prisoners was the order of battle. Societies of herdsmen succeeded those of hunters and fishers. Man having domesticated first the dog, then the ox, the horse, the sheep or the llama, by that means ensured his livelihood for the morrow, and was enabled to turn his attention to other matters besides the quest of food. We therefore see pastoral societies advancing in the way of progress, by the improvement of their dress, their weapons, and their habitations. But pastoral communities have also need of large tracts of country, for their herds rapidly exhaust the herbage in one region, and they must therefore seek farther for pastures, in order that they may be sure of their food, when that is confined to flesh and milk. Pastoral populations were therefore of necessity nomadic. D 2 Hosted by GoOgle 36 THE HUMAN RACE. In their reciprocal migrations, pastoral tribes frequently came into collision, and found it necessary to dispute by armed force the possession of the soil. War ensued. Since the prisoners taken could be maintained with comparative ease by the con- queror on condition of their lending assistance, they were forced to become slaves, and it is thus that the sad condition of slavery, which was later on to extend in so aggravated a degree as to develop into a social grievance, had its origin. The third form of society was realized as soon as man turned his attention to agriculture, that is, when he began to make plants and herbage, artificially produced, an abundant and certain source of nourishment. Agriculture affords man certain leisure time and tends to soften his manners and customs. If war breaks out, its episodes are less cruel in themselves. The captive can, without actually being reduced to slavery, be added to the number of those who labour in the fields, and hi return for a consideration contribute to the wellbeing of the tribe. The Serf here takes the place of the slave ; a form of society, composed of masters and different degrees of servants, becomes definitely organized. Agricultural people, being relieved from the preoccupations of material existence, are enabled to foster their intelligence, which becomes rapidly more abundant. It is thus that civilization first took root in human society. These then are the three stages, which, in all countries, mankind have of necessity passed through before becoming civilized. The progress from one stage to the next has varied in rapidity in proportion to circumstances of time and place, and of the country or hemisphere. Nations, whom we find at the present day but little advanced in civilization, were on the other hand originally superior to other nations we may point to. The Chinese were civilized long before the inhabitants of Europe. They were building superb monuments, were engaged in the cultivation of the mulberry, were rearing silkworms, manufac- turing porcelain, &c, at the very time when our ancestors, the Celts and Aryans, clothed in the skins of wild beasts, and tattooed, were living in the woods in the condition of hunters. The Babylonians were occupied with the study of astronomy, and were calculating the orbits of the stars two thousand years before Christ; for the astronomical registers brought by Alexander the Great Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 37 from Babylon, refer back to celestial observations extending over more than ten centuries. Egyptian civilization dates back to at least four thousand years before Christ, as is proved by the magnificent statue of Gheflrel, which belongs to that period, and which, since it is composed of granite, can only have been cut by the aid of iron and steel tools, in themselves indicators of an advanced form of industry. This last consideration should make us feel modest. It shows that nations whom we now crush by bur intellectual supe- riority, the Chinese and Egyptians, perhaps also the old inhabi- tants of Mexico and Peru, were once far before us in the path of civilization. It is quite clear that manufactures have tended to hasten the progress of civilization. It is well worthy of remark that, accord- ing as the matter composing the material of these manufactures has undergone transformation, so the condition of society has progressed. Two mineral substances were the objects of primi- tive manufactures : stone and metal. Civilization was rough- hewn by instruments made of stone, and has been finished by those composed of metal. Modem naturalists and archaeologists are therefore perfectly right in dividing the history of primitive man into two ages : the stone age, and the metal age. In our work " Primitive Man," we have followed step by step the course and oscillations of the primitive manufactures of different peoples. We have first seen that man being without any other instrument of attack or defence save his nails and teeth, or a stick, made use of stones, and formed them into arms and tools. We then saw that he made himself master of fire, of which he alone understands the use. We then saw him, with the aid of fire, supply the heat which in cold climates the sun denied, create during the night artificial light, and add to the insufficiency of his form of diet, not to speak of the numerous advantages which his industry enabled him to gain by the application of heat. As man progressed, the instrument formed merely of stone trimmed to shape no longer sufficed him ; he polished it, and even commenced to adorn it with drawings and symbols. Thus the arts found their origin. Metals succeeded stone, and by their use a complete revolution was effected in human societies. The tool composed of bronze Hosted by G00gle 38 THE HUMAN RACE. enabled work to be done, which was out of the question when the agent was stone. Later on iron made its appearance, and from that time industry progressed with giant strides. We have no occasion here to revert to the history of the development of the industry of man in prehistoric times. We shall confine ourselves to pointing out that this part of our subject is treated at full length in our work on " Primitive Man." To summarize what we have said : if man, in his bodily formation, is an animal, in the exalted range of his intellect, he is Nature's lord. Although we show that in him phenomena present themselves similar to those which we encounter in vege- tables and plants, yet we see him by his superior faculties, extend afar Ins empire, and reign supreme over all that is around him, the mineral as well as the organized world. The faculties wThich properly belong to human intelligence and distinguish man from the brute, namely, the abstractive faculties, make him the privileged being of creation, and justify him in his pride, for, besides the physical power which he is able to exert on matter, he alone has the notion of duty and the knowledge of the existence of a God. After these, general considerations we proceed to the descrip- tion of the different races of men. We have said that we shall adopt in this work the classification proposed by M. d'Omalius d'Halloy, modifying it to meet our own views. We shall therefore describe in their order : 1. The White Race. 2. The Yellow Race. 3. The Brown Race. 4. The Red Race. 5. The Black Race. We wduld call special observation to the fact that these epithets must not always be taken in an absolute sense. The • meaning they intend to convey is that each of the groups we establish is composed of men, who considered as a whole, are more white, yellow, brown, red, or black, than those of other races. The reader must therefore not be surprised to find in any Hosted by G00gle INTRODUCTION. 39 given race men whose colour does not agree with the epithet which we here employ in order to characterize them. In addition to that, these groups are not founded solely upon the colour of the skin ; they are derived from the consideration of other characteristics, and, above all, from the languages spoken by the people in question. Hosted by G00gle THE WHITE EACE. This race was called by Cuvier the Caucasian, since that writer assigned to the mountains of the Caucasus the first origin of man. It is now frequently known as the Aryan race, from the name formerly bestowed upon the inhabitants of Persia. The Caucasian or Aryan race is admittedly the original stock of our species, and it would seem that from the region of the Caucasus, or the Persian shores of the Caspian Sea, this race has spread into different parts of the earth, peopling progressively the entire globe. The beautiful oval form of the head is a mark which dis- tinguishes the Caucasian or Aryan race of men from all others* The nose is large and straight: the aperture of the mouth moderate in size, enclosed by delicate lips; the teeth are arranged vertically: the eyes are large, wide open, and sur- mounted by curved brows. The forehead is advanced, and the face well proportioned : the hair is glossy, long, and abundant. This race it is from which have proceeded the most civilized nations, those who have most usually become rulers of others. We shall divide the White Eace into three branches, corres- ponding to peoples who at the first successively developed themselves in the north-west, the south-east, and north-east of the Caucasus. These branches are the European, Aramean, and Persian. This classification is based upon geographical and linguistic considerations. M. d'Omalius d'Halloy admits a fourth branch, the Scythian, which we reject, since the people which it comprises belong more properly to the Yellow Eace or to the Aramean branch of the White Eace. Hosted by G00gle V l£ur,p* ;22,*.daPt. I Hosted by GoOgle CHAPTEK L EUEOPEAN BRANCH. What we have just said with regard to the civilization and power of the white race applies with most force to the peoples who form the European branch. Proceeding upon considerations grounded chiefly upon language, we distinguish among the peoples forming the European branch, three great families : the Teutonic, Latin and Slavonic, to which must be added a smaller family, the Greek. Although great differences exist between the languages spoken by the peoples composing these four families, these languages are all in some manner connected with Sanskrit, that is the language used in the ancient sacred books of the Hindus. The analogy of European languages with Sanskrit, added to the antiquity evidenced by the historical records of many Asiatic nations, and notably of the Hindus, brings us to the admission that Europeans first came from Asia. Teutonic Family. The people comprised in the Teutonic family are those who possess in the highest degree the attributes of the wThite race. Their complexion, which is clearer than that of any other people, does not appear susceptible of becoming brown, even after a long residence in warm climates. Their eyes are generally blue, their hair is blond ; they are of a good height and possess well propor- tioned limbs. From the very earliest times recorded in history, these people have occupied Scandinavia, Denmark, Germany and a portion of France. They have also developed themselves in the British Hosted by G00gle i-kjxv/fcj, xxi. .LVIVX. T , f.'lHllll) U11VI VUV XXVj»X 111 V/X 4 X Jl X 1 named countries they have eventually become mixed with peopl belonging to other families. What is more, these same peopl form at the present day the most important part of the whit population of America and Oceanica, and have reduced into sub jection a large portion of Southern Asia. "We shall divide the Teutonic family into three leading groups the Scandinavians, Germans, and English. 3. — WAKE OF ICELANDIC PEASANTS IN A BARN. Scandinavians. — The Scandinavians have preserved almo unaltered the typical characteristics of the Teutonic famil Their intelligence is far advanced, and instruction has bee spread among them to such an extent, that they have given strong impulse to scientific progress. The ancient poems of tl Scandinavians, which go back as far as the eighth century, a celebrated in the history of European Htei^tiilw00g^ TM^ o «,,: . _ J.l\-.^« -.,-....•.- H«nilM/li «%A1Ml 1 ^4-1 rf-V*-* , )oken by them is most similar of all to the ancient Scandi- avian. The Feroe Isles are also inhabited by Scandinavians, and many wedes are also met with on the coasts of Finland. But in other 3untries, to which in former times the Scandinavians extended leir conquests, they have, in general, mingled with the peoples ley subjected. 4. — WOMEN OF STAVANGER, NORWAY. The Icelanders are of middle height and only of moderate liysical power. They are honest, faithful, and hospitable, and ctremely fond of their native country. Their productions are nail in extent, as they understand little more than the manufac- ire of coarse stuff and the preparation of leath^?^ Google w s\ rtT. ita \\ r\**f\. c»/-\ ■»•»■*» r\ + *-*^,r* ^C i\ -» r\o r\ «AA!-\ l*\ a. iic xiujl wcgiuno tins xuuu&i, active, ui gicat tiiiuuraiict:, »llil]/lt hospitable, and benevolent. In Norway few differences are found in the manners an customs of the different classes of society. Customs here ar truly democratic, the peasant plays the chief part in the affairs c the country. The popular diet dictates its will to the govern ment. 5. — CITIZEN OF STAVAXGER. M. de Saint Blaise in his work, Voyage dans les Etats Scand naves, describes the Norwegian as a rough and moody but rehab' character. One thing which struck him was the absence < sociability between the two sexes. They marry usually befoi attaining twenty-five years of age, when the woman devotes herse entirely to her husband and household affairs. When the two sexes meet at meals, th^st^wS^iinmediate; J.T —~-» i. ' _j atural grace. 6. — COSTUMES OF THE TELEMARK (NORWAY). Hosted by G00gk (. ' -ljuc xyu/cco ^tiic uau e/uLt'o ui uruiud) uiv a peupit! uiuuu ui tut; race, and full of valour and stubbornness. The men are tall an strong; the women slender and active. Their hair is blond, the eyes are blue, and their complexion ruddy. The children are fres and rosy, the old men lithesome and erect in their walk. The: voices are good and vigorous, they speak in an energetic mannei We encounter in Denmark a strange mixture of democratic an feudal customs : perpetual entails are contrasted with laws whos ; 7. — WOMEN OF CHRISTIANSUND (XORWAY). object is equality. The working classes have an ardent desir* to possess land in their own right. There are in Denmark three classes of peasantry : those wh< possess both house and garden, those who possess merely i house, and those who only rent apartments. The first of thes< furnish their board with rich plate and utensils ; their wives anc children go to work in the fields decorated with rings anc bracelets. The people therefore enjoy a considerable amount of comfort Add to this a general degree of instruction, whleK^tfends ever lan that of France, England, Spain, and Italy. Drunkenness is rarely met with in Denmark, and marriage is snsidered sacred. The marriages of the Fionian peasants last seven days. They ance and make merry three days before and three days after lat on which the marriage takes place. The ceremony is per- 8.— BOY AND GIRL OF THE LAWERGRAND (NORWAY). >rmed amid a flourish of trumpets. The bridegroom is elegantly ressed, the bride still more so ; she wears, moreover, a kind of iadem in which flowers are seen mingling with gold. Germans. — When wandering as nomadic tribes in the woods, lat is, at the time of the Koman Empire, the ancient inhabitants f Germany much resembled their neighbours, the Gauls. They ere men of large stature and vigorous frame, with white skins, 'heir hair, however, was usually red, while among the Gauls the nlinor p.nlnnr waa KInnrL Thpir bend was lame, with a broad which would render it difficult at the present day, to find, in th greater portion of that country, general characteristics based upo] the structure of the head, and the colour of the e}res or hair. The modern inhabitants of Germany, the Germans, occupy ; very large portion of Germany proper and of Eastern Prussia, a well as a broad band of country to the right of the Rhine. The; i ; ' H -^ v^JHiiy ^—-—3 jnL 9, 10.— SUABIANS (stuttgabd). are found also in different parts of Hungary, Poland, Russia, an< North America. The Germans of the East and South having mixed much with the peoples of Southern Europe, do not repre sent exclusively the Teutonic type ; some of them are met witl who have brown hair and black eyes. We give in the accompanying illustrations (figs. 9 to 14) sonu types and costumes of the inhabitants of Germany prope: (Baden, Wiirtemberg, Suabia and Bavaria). The national cos tumes of Alsace are also shown. Hosted by Google >\e shall linrrmxr frnm a w/vrlr TvnKKonci/1 in 1 ftftfi nnr?£n» 4no +i+li EUROPEAN BRANCH. 49 Clavel, an interesting description of the customs of modern Germany : — " Impinging, at its south-western frontier, upon the Latin world, at its south-eastern frontier, upon the Slavonian world, and at its northern frontier, upon Scandinavia, Germany,,, says Dr. Clavel, 4C does not admit of any very distinct definition. Throughout the whole periphery of this country there exists no identity either of customs, language, or religion. Its provinces on the frontiers of Denmark are half Scandinavian ; those bordering on Russia or Turkey are half Slavonic ; those which are neighbours of Italy or France are half Latin : the provinces which together represent the frontiers of Germany, form a zone more mixed and various than is possessed by the frontiers of any other nationality. " It is only toward the centre of the country that we find in all its purity the blond Germanic type, the feudal organization and the numerous principalities which are its consequences. It is here that we find the conditions of climate which appear to pro- duce this race with blue eyes, red and white complexion, tall figures, and full, powerful frames. " Whilst the Latin, glorying in the light of heaven, enlarges his windows, builds open terraces, and clears his forests that he may plant vineyards in their stead ; the German loves above all things shade and mystic retreats. He hides his house in the midst of trees, limits his windows in size, and lines his streets with leafy elms ; he reveres, nay, almost worships his old oak trees, endows them with soul and language, and makes of them the abode of a Divinity. "In order thoroughly to enter into the German genius, we must wander among the paths of their old forests, observe and analyze carefully the effects of light and shade, springing up in ubiquitous confusion, intersecting confined and narrow per- spectives, lending isolated objects a brightness vividly con- trasting with the neighbouring obscurity, changing even the appearance of the face in their alternations, and forming dark backgrounds, illuminated by prismatic tints and glowing sun- beams. Pausing beneath the venerable trees, we must listen to sounds, re-echoed a thousand times, then dying away among the thickets, to give place to the rustling of aspen leaves, to the sighing of the firs, or to the harmonious murmurs of rivulets which force their way amid the flags and water-lilies. We must inhale Hosted by G00gle exhilarating scent of the wild cherry blossom. It is only tl that we come to appreciate the love of nature and the druidi tone which pervade German literature ; we understand Groeth passion for natural history ; the poem of Faust becomes full meaning ; a feeling of melancholy creeps over the mind and lef us to the contemplation of things that are soft, sad, mysterioi fantastic, irregular, and original. 11, 12. — SUABIAKS (3TUTTGARD). " Being brought thus in contact with nature, the German natural and primitive ; he sympathizes with the world's infan He easily goes back to the past and the consideration of oh times; but it is not in him to anticipate the future, and he rega progress with distaste. If he advances towards equality and uni it is the ideal of the Latins which impels him. There is in hir resistance which forms part of his patient and cold nature, movements are sluggish. His language40^ blto^gformed. 1 EUROPEAN BRANCH. 51 " The plastic arts of Germany also possess the simplicity and variety-which are produced by imagination; but they are wanting in proportion, in purity of style and elegance ; they are capable of arranging neither lines nor colours; their productions often verge on the grotesque, or are marked by heaviness or pedantry, and they clearly are not the work of children of the sun. " The Germans possess an ear which appreciates sound in a wonderful manner, and reduces with ease to melody the fleeting impressions of the Soul. " . . . . He who possesses a strong and enduring constitu- tion brings to his means of action energy of will. His pro- jects are neither frivolously conceived, nor abandoned without good reason, and they are often followed out in spite of a thousand obstacles. This patient and continuous activity on the part of the Germans enables them to succeed in all forms of industry, in spite of their subdivision and other hindrances resulting from their political constitution. " When men are laborious, patient, and frugal, we may expect to see family life become strongly organized, and exercise a decisive influence upon national customs. " Love, whose duty it is to bring together the sexes into a united existence, is in Germany, neither very positive, nor very romantic; it is dreamy in its character. It seeks its object in youth and speedily finds it ; faithfulness is then observed until the time for marriage arrives. "Early engagements being admitted by custom, betrothed couples are seen together, arm in arm, among the crowd at public or private festivals, or in lonely woods, or in twilight seclusion. Pleasure and pain they share with one another, happy in the conviction that their hearts beat in unison, and in the repetition, over and over again, of tender assurances. The calmness of their temperament and the certainty of belonging to one another some day, diminish the danger of these long inter- views. The young man respects the girl who is to bear his name and rule hig home with her virtuous example ; she, on her part, shrinks from a seduction which would dishonour her and compro-> mise her future life. " Such customs cannot but meet with approbation. They assure the future of a woman, and save her from coquetry. They form a man for the performance of his duties as head of a family, E 2 Hosted by G00gle nmKe min uiuu^ntiui iux tut; lULtue, save mm iruzu nueiiiauuoiicj which wears out the heart as well as the constitution, and- last] render his love permanent by reducing it to habit. " When the wedding-day, looked forward to for so many yeai arrives, the characters of man and woman have taken their ] spective stamp. The young people know each other ; they ha no ground for suspecting deceit, for the singleness of their he* admits of only one affection. 13.— BAVARIANS. "Everything here contributes to heighten the dignity woman. From her girlhood, and during the years in which 1 beauty is blossoming, she feels herself an object of devotion — s is mistress. Whatever she grants, however slight the favour re be, acquires a high value. The offering sanctified by her kiss far more costly than gold ; the riband she has worn becon equal to a decoration." This picture of German customs has speciaj reference to 1 inhabitants of Central Germany, the AusMSiS0 54 THE WHITE KACE. But these qualities are far from being the attributes of the inhabi- tants of the North and West. The Germans of the North and West appeared in their true character during the war of 1870, when a series of deplorable fatalities and mournful inconsistencies had delivered up unhappy France to the mercy of the invader. We then learnt how to appreciate this reputation for good-nature, simplicity, and gentleness, which was commonly attached to the inhabitants of the Ultra-Ehenic countries. The good-nature developed itself into an undisguised ferocity, the simplicity into dark duplicity, and the gentleness into haughty and brutal violence. The hated and jealous fury of the Prussians, who rushed upon France with the avowed intention of reducing her to impotence, and erasing her, if possible, from the role of nations ; their cold-blooded cruelties and shameless rapine, are so impressed upon the minds of all Frenchmen, that we need not recall them. Prussian barbarity attained the level of that prac- tised by the Vandals in the second century. Our scholars have found some difficulty in explaining the anomaly which existed between the ferocious conduct of the German armies, and the very opposite reputation enjoyed by our neighbours beyond the Ehine. Accustomed to regard the Germans as peaceful and gentle, sentimental and dreamy, we, in France, were painfully surprised to find facts contrast so cruelly with an opinion so generally entertained. An ethno- logical work, published in 1871 by M. de Quatrefages in the "Revue des Deux Mondes,"* has afforded a scientific explanation of this anomaly. M. de Quatrefages has shown, by considerations at once linguistic, geological, ethnological, and historical, that the Prussians, properly so called, that is, the inhabitants of Pome- rania, Mecklenburg, Brandenburg,, and Silesia, have but little in common with the German race^-that they are not, in fact, Germans, but result from a mixture of Slavonians and Finns with the primitive inhabitants of those countries. The Finns overran, at a very early period, Pomerania and Eastern-Prussia; later on, the Slavonians conquered the same territory, as well as Brandenburg and Silesia. Certain Germanic tribes — to which add the results of a French immigration into Prussia, which took place under Louis XIV., after the revocation of the * Issue of Feb. 15th. Hosted by G00gle EUROPEAN BRANCH. 55 edict of Nantes — must be joined to the stock of Slavonians and Finns, in order to make up the Prussian race as it at present exists. The northern Slavonians possessed a well-known coarse- ness of manner, and were of large stature and powerful constitu- tion. The Finns, or primitive inhabitants of the shores of the Baltic, were characterized by cunning and violence, united to an extraordinary tenacity. The modern Prussians revive all these ancestral defects. M. Godron, a naturalist of Nancy, who has very successfully studied the German race, says, " The Prussians are neither Ger- mans nor Slavonians : they are Prussians ! " This fact is now clearly shown by the investigations of M. de Quatrefages. From an ethnological point of view, the Prussians are very different from the German populations, who are now subjected to the rule of the Emperor William under the pretext of German unity. Two different written languages exist among the German people ; that of the Netherlands and German. The Netherland language has given birth to three dialects — Dutch, Flemish, and Frieslandic. The Dutch, in the seventeenth century, were the greatest maritime commercial people in the world, and founded at that period a certain number of colonies. The Dutchman is by nature reserved and silent. Simplicity is the marked feature of his character. He possesses patriotic feeling in a high degree, and is capable of enthusiasm and devo- tion in the defence of his strange and curious territory, preserved from the sea by dykes and formidable constructions, and irri- gated by innumerable canals, which form the ordinary means of communication, and which link together the seas and the rivers, as well as the towns. English.— The English may be considered as resulting from a mixture of the Saxons and Angles with the people who inhabited the British Isles before the Saxon invasion. Whence came and who were the Angles and Saxons ? According to Tacitus, the Angles were a small nation inhabit- ing the regions next the ocean. The Saxons, according to Ptolemy, dwelt between the mouths of the Elbe and Schleswig. About the fifth century after Christ, the Angles and Saxons in- vaded the British. Isles, and mingled with the inhabitants, who Hosted by G00gle- 5& THE WHITE EACE. then comprised Celts, Latins, and Arameans. During the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, fresh invasions of Great Britain, by the Normans and Danes, added to this blood, already so* mixed, another foreign infusion. From this medley of different peoples has sprung the English nation, in whom are found at the same time, the patient and persevering character, the serious disposition, and the love of family life, introduced by the Saxons, and which is the peculiarity of the German nature, combined with the lightness and impres- sionability of the Celt. The physical type which is the result of this mixture, that is, the English type, corresponds with the combination of races we have specified. The head is in shape long and high,' and is in this respect to be distinguished from the square heads of the Germans, particularly those of Suabia and Thuringia. The English generally possess a clear and transparent skin, chestnut hair, tall and slender figures, a stiff gait, and a cold physio* gnomy. Their women do not offer the noble appearance and luxurious figure of the Greek and Eoman women; but their skins surpass in transparency and brilliancy those of the female inhabitants of all other European countries. We borrow a few pages from the work of Dr. Clavel upon " Les Races Humaines et leur Part dans la Civilisation," in order to convey an exact knowledge of the nature and customs of our neighbours across the Channel : — "When he examines/' says Dr Clavel, " the geographical posi- tion of England, a land possessing a humid rather than a cold climate, the observer pictures to himself beforehand that he is about to meet a people of imperious appetite, of a vigorous cir- culation, of a powerfully organized locomotive system, and a sanguineo-lymphatic temperament. The power of the digestive functions shows that the nervous system is unable to obtain dominion, and that there is a lack of sensibility: the frequent fogs, which destroy the perfumes of the earth, the stormy winds of the ocean, and the absence of wine, announce a poverty of sentiment and inspiration, and of the arts founded upon them* " The level plains, which are as a rule met with in England, are not favourable to the development of the lower extremities, and it is a fact that the power of the English lies, not so much in the legs, as in the arms, shoulders, and loins. The fist is an Hosted by G00gle EUROPEAN BRANCH. 57 Englishman's natural weapon, either for attack or defence ; his popular form of duel is boxing, while the foot plays an important part in the form of duel which, in France, bears the characteristic name of Savate. " This power in the upper regions of the body gives to an Englishman a peculiar appearance. In view of his brawny shoulders, his thick and muscular neck, and broad chest, we rightly divine the ready workman, the daring seaman, the inde-, fatigable mechanic, the soldier who is ready to die at his post but who bears up with difficulty against forced marches and hunger. His blond or reddish hair, his white skin and grey eyes, bespeak the mists of his country ; the barely marked nape of his neck, and the oval form of his cranium, indicate that Finn blood flows in his veins ; his maxillary power, and the size of his teeth, evidence a preference for an animal diet. He has the high fore- head of the thinker, but not the long eyes of the artist. " The insular position of England, its excellent situation upon the Atlantic, its numerous and magnificent seaport towns, its watercourses and the facilities for conducting its internal naviga- tion, all suggest a large maritime commerce and the habits which accompany it. But neither the soil, the climate, nor the geo- graphical position, can account for the aptitudes imported by different races* " The Englishman is two-fold — Celt and German — and it is only a superficial examination which can confound them. " The Celt, whom in the absence of precise notions of an earlier population we have come to consider as indigenous, resembles the Neo-Latin races, and, above all, the French. He rarely exists collectively, except in Ireland, and some mountainous districts of Wales and Scotland. His cranium and features indicate artistic aptitudes. He prefers Christianity in the Anglican Catholic form. Like the old Gauls, he delights in wine, laughter, gaming, dancing, conversation, raillery, and fighting. He is spirited and fond of joking, frank and hospitable ; but his versatility renders him incapable of steadily pursuing an enterprise to the end, of careful reflection, or of thought for the future. Through his powerless- ness to combine his powers and act collectively, he has become a prey to enemies, who were superior to him neither in number, courage, nor even in intelligence. Old and joyous England and Ireland became subject to the Dane, the Saxon, and the Norman : Hosted by G00gle 58 THE WHITE RACE. they lost their proverbial gaiety, their bards, their democratic tendency, and their civilization. " The physical and moral differences between the modern conquerors of England were but slight. They all came from the coasts of the Baltic Sea, and all possessed the elementary cha- racteristics of the German and Scandinavian, and the aptitudes which they inherited from the old Sea Kings. They had, more- over, strength, which bade them regard conquest as a right, and take what they desired ; pride, which bade them hold up their head even against the storm; individual initiative, which de- manded, above all things, personal liberty; a tenacity, that nothing discouraged ; an intelligence, capable of every subtlety ; a general sensuality, which converted the bodily necessities into a means of enjoyment ; a lack of sentiment, which pre-supposed a want of aptitude for art ; and, lastly, a temperament which was calm and robust under all circumstances. " This type, which is still found among all branches of society, not excepting the aristocracy, has been modified by its combina- tion with the Celtic element, but it still remains predominant. The Saxon, as a rule, absorbs or destroys the other races; we may say, he drinks in their vitality, but is unable to assimilate himself to their temperament. "We must, therefore, expect to find the customs of England proper, more Scandinavian than Celtic. The pleasures of olden time have fallen off ; the merry gossips of those days find no place but in literature ; raillery, when it comes from Saxon lips, is armed with sharp teeth, and tears away the morsel it attacks. "When intelligence is averted from the ideal, and constantly directed towards the positive matters of life, it acquires the habit of considering in all things the question of profit and loss ; it becomes averse to waste, which destroys property unprofitably, and loves order, without which, material prosperity is impossible ; it guides the organic forces to productive industry, agriculture, and commerce, where they are fostered and matured ; and last of all, to speculation, which anticipates the greater part of the fruits of commerce, agriculture, and manufacture. The Saxon finds every- where the means of speculating, aided in his manoeuvres by the intri- cacy of his commercial laws. As a consequence of his phlegmatic temperament, he gives way neither to the snares of enthusiasm, nor to the deceptions of discouragement. He reasons aright, both Hosted by G00gle EUROPEAN BRANCH, 59 for the present and the future. In dealing craftily with his antagonist, he is well able to guard himself against the weaknesses of feeling. His face rarely^betrays his convictions, and his features are devoid of the mobility which would prove disadvantageous. " Thus it is that the Englishman joins subtlety to will ; hence his practical power. Being strong and able, he acquires a con- fidence in himself which easily degenerates into pride, and saves him from smallness of character. He is neither obsequious, nor prone to flattery ; he casts on one side the refinements of polite- ness, which he regards as humiliating in one who employs them ; he keeps his word, and considers that he would be dishonoured in breaking it ; but he makes the best of all his advantages. For him, life is a struggle for triumph, without regard for those who are unable to contend, and who succumb in the attempt. He asks no pity, and gives but little ; he cannot be called cruel, for cruelty is a form of weakness ; but he does not hesitate to oppress an enemy, when to do so would be productive of material advantage. In attaching to an Englishman the characteristic of individual initiative, which is met with among all the branches of the Germanic tree, we rightly expect to find him fond of liberty, without which his powers would have no vent. " But this liberty would soon lead him to destruction, did he not join to it the spirit of propriety, and temper it with the love of order, which he acquires in his industrial and commercial pursuits. " . . . . His arts are wanting neither in talent, observation, delicacy, nor humour; they represent men and tilings with the most scrupulous accuracy; but they lack feeling, warmth, and ideality; they know not how to bring the passions into play, and are unable to soar above the descriptive. His stage is a failure, as is his music, both in themselves pure creations of feeling ; and his architecture is governed by the nature of mate- rials, and the application of his buildings to the needs of life. This rage for practical convenience, which makes the London houses so unsightly, has also been instrumental in simplify- ing his language to amphibology, and curtailing the accent to such an extent as to create discord. When harmony in the means of expressing thought is wanting, the art of talking well is no longer exercised in conversation, but becomes concentrated in discourse. There is scarcely an intermediate between the Hosted by G00gle 60 THE WHITE EACE. latter form of speech, and incorrect conversation among indi- viduals. The result of this is, that the Englishman, on almost every occasion, expresses himself in speeches, which are listened to and commented upon with an imperturbable patience, but which have the grave fault of imparting to social relations a tone of pedantry and stiflhess. As soon as that exists, there is no longer any room for fun and humour* Following out the spirit of formality, many things become no longer permissible, or cannot be dealt with except by reference to strict rules. Pro- priety, therefore, includes, over and above pure politeness, a number of conventionalities which in themselves constitute nothing less than a social tyranny. An act, which, everywhere else, would be regarded as perfectly natural, easily becomes food for scandal ; and in society, by far the greater number of those one meets abstain from action, speech, or gesticulation. An icy reserve is the tone generally assumed. "In such society as this, indiscretion and flippancy are almost out of the question. But, although the English scorn a lie, they cannot speak the whole truth : they find it necessary to reserve a portion, and frequently the most important part. The result is a peculiar form of hypocrisy which bears the name of cant, and which is really the bane of English society. Owing to this, social life is enclosed in a circle of intolerance which imparts to it a painful uniformity. Each person is obliged to do as every one else, to such an extent, that in the land of liberty, the spirit is oppressed and dejected to a degree suggestive of suicide. Hence it is that so many English, in order to escape spleen, are forced to leave their country. " The Englishwoman is tall, fair, and strongly built. Her skin is of dazzling freshness ; her features are small and elegantly formed ; the oval of her face is marked, but it is somewhat heav}^ toward the lower portion ; her hair is fine, silky, and charming ; and her long and graceful neck imparts to the movements of her head a character of grace and pride. " So far, all about her is essentially feminine ; but upon analyzing her bust and limbs, we find that the large bones, peculiar to her race, interfere with the delicacy of her form, enlarge her extremities, and lessen the elegance of her postures and the harmony of her movements. " Woman moves about two centres, which are the head and Hosted by G00gle EUROPEAN BRANCH. 61 the heart. The latter deals with bodily grace, roundness and delicacy of form, inspiration in feeling, devotion in love, sympathy, a manifold and undefinable seductiveness, a sort of divine radiance, which is grace, tenderness, and all that is charming. The former supplies intelligence, spirit, animation, and consistency of action. "If all we see in an Italian or Spanish woman tells of the supremacy of heart, which Lord Byron loved so much, all in the Englishwoman reveals mental superiority. Her physical and mental powers are well balanced. (t There are few mental occupations in which a daughter of Great Britain cannot engage. She acquires knowledge with facility; she writes with elegance, and would be capable at a stretch of improvising a speech; she is witty and even brilliant; capable of dealing with abstract sciences; she can contend with the other sex in sagacity and depth ; yet her con- versation does not captivate. She lacks a thousand feminine instincts, and this lack is revealed in her toilette, the posture she assumes, and in her actions and movements. She rarely possesses musical taste. Her language and song do not captivate the ear ; her appreciation of colour, form, and perfume, are at fault. She loves what is striking, and instead of attaining harmony, revels in discord. " No aristocracy, can, with reference to ability, be compared with that of England. Having ensured the influence of wealth by seizing the land, and substituting in its possession the son for the father, by virtue of the right of primogeniture, it has given the legislative power to the proprietors of the soil, through the medium of a House of Peers, whose prerogatives and domains pass to the eldest son, and of a House of Commons, the right to elect whose members is centred chiefly in the tenants of large proprietors. Where the nobility enjoy such privileges, royahy necessarily assumes a dependent position, and becomes merely an instrument. Positions of influence in the administration, the army, the magistracy, and the church, fall of right to families of distinction, who dispose of all the strength of the country, and apply it for the benefit of their own caste. Taxation is organized in such a manner as to weigh chiefly upon the lower classes, while the produce falls to the advantage of the privileged class as emoluments. Hosted by G00gle 62 THE WHITE RACE. ". . . Before the British aristocracy could attain the import- ance it now possesses, many conquests were necessary, to which the substance of Spain, Portugal, Holland, and of a hundred and thirty millions of Indians, has fallen a prey. The attainment of this object, has, moreover, forced fifteen millions of English people to exist upon a daily stipend, when there is any stipend at all ; and, to aid it, the cannon has opened the frontiers of China to the opium trade, and to the products of manufactures which must either sell or succumb. The only material compensation for all these evils, is, that immense power is given to wealth. The culti- vation of luxury, in every form, has increased tenfold the number of objects to be provided. The houses are crowded with a number of articles of furniture, the use of which is a science in itself; the tables are loaded with an infinite variety of dishes, fruits, plate, and glass ; stuffs of a thousand different shades are offered to the caprice of fashion, to be used either in adorning, the person, or in the decoration of apartments ; but for all that, the house is neither more beautiful nor more wholesome as an abode, the table is not more hospitable or more joyous, nor is the dress more elegant or warm; comfort stifles what is merely beautiful, which wealthy men always associate with a large outlay. " Among the English aristocracy we must expect, neither the exquisite elegance of the Latin aristocracy, nor the appreciation of art, which, in Italy, and even in France, gives birth to so many marvels. " Wealth has been able to accumulate in the galleries of private persons, pictures and statues, the work of other nations, but has been quite unable to raise up a school of architecture, of painting, or of sculpture ; or even to assign a single division to music. Workers and statesmen abound in England ; but the condition of artists is bad in the extreme. A great poet emerges from the ranks of the nobility, and employs his talent in scourging the aristocracy, and laying bare the customs of his country. Eminent writers assign a philosophic value to the romance of gentle blood, and paint in the blackest colours the mercantile and feudal genius. " The men of iron, who have transformed England into a sort of freehold, seem to think themselves altogether different from the jest of humanity ; they pass through the midst of other populations without being influenced by the contact, or modifying the etiquette. Hosted by G00gle 15. — ENGLISHMAN 64 THE WHITE EACE. which rules their excesses at table and in drinking, and which governs field sports and courtship. A word or gesture is sufficient to mark its author as of low breeding, and to jar upon the nerves of the nobility, which are susceptible of still greater irritation, when writers of ability venture to speak of lords as of simple mortals ; but this scandal has been obviated in the fashionable novel, in which, amid a halo of ennui, aristocratic decorum shines forth. "All this is productive of a meditated coldness and repulsive pride, which renders expansion and joviality impossible. Moral oppression and ennui permeate their whole life, and in the end render existence insupportable. These rich and powerful men become the victims of spleen. " Those who find no relief in political struggles, seek in foreign countries change and diversion ; the more robust share their time between the table, their horses, and their dogs ; they drink to a frightful extent ; they unearth the fox, and follow him on horseback, clearing every object although at the risk of their neck, or else they travel a hundred leagues to see a thorough-bred horse run, and to risk upon him what would make the fortune of ten plebeians. " Such a life as this can be led only in the country. It must therefore be noticed that the English nobility pass nine months out of the year at their country seats, in the exercise of the gorgeous hospitality which is met with in all large oligarchies, and cultivating there the comforts of ease to a degree bordering on fanaticism. "Beneath the shade of feudality, exists a class of farmers, manufacturers, merchants, capitalists, and speculators, which consoles itself for the humiliations it experiences by those which, in its turn, it imposes on the lower classes. This middle class, oppressed by that above, and menaced by that below it, pre- sents a singular mixture of timidity and resolution. Its existence, over precarious, makes it easily susceptible of alarm, ready to yield to the terms of the powerful, or to assume any character. Its enthusiasm and admiration are inexhaustible, when it foresees, in the conduct of its superiors, some gain to itself; but the resist- ance it offers is most powerfully adroit when public affairs tend to do it harm. Danger hardly ever takes it by surprise, as its signs are seen from afar and anticipated. " One would almost expect to find Israelitish traits of character in people who make the Bible their book of books ; who, while Hosted by G00gle EUROPEAN BRANCH. 65 undergoing extortion, still retain the feeling of dignity, who are passionately fond of money and whatever conduces to its posses- sion ; who risk that they may gain, and compensate one chance of loss by three chances of profit ; who respect the letter of the law more than its intention, and who employ commercial upright- ness as a clever means of making a fortune. "In the middle class, the British aristocracy finds a means of keeping under the proletarian class, true representatives of the old Celts. These unfortunate men are reproached, with drunkenness, to which they fly as a means of forgetting their misfortunes ; with brutality, which exhibits itself in blows, injuries, prize fights, and cock-fighting ; with coarse sensuality, which feeds upon meat and beer ; with selfishness, which extends even to the glasses of drinkers ; and lastly, with stronger criminal desires than are met with among other civilized nations. " But in spite of these vices, the sad fruit of misery, wretched- ness, and ignorance, they possess substantial virtues. The English workman has in his heart an innate feeling of generosity. He is gentle to the weak, and rude to the strong. Goodness charms him, and whatever is generous is sure to meet with his support. Although blinded by self-interest to the point of being altogether without a notion of justice, he can hardly be accused of avarice, since he gives cheerfully. His friendship is firm, although by no means demonstrative ; he keeps his word, and despises an untruth. Reverses redouble instead of causing him to abate his efforts ; he never despairs of what he undertakes, since he is ready to sacrifice all for success, even his life. He has none of the sordid vanities which stain the intermediate classes. For his country, which is to him less a mother than a step-mother, he entertains an inexhaustible affection. To her he devotes his whole existence ; he is rewarded by his own admira- tion of her, and deludes himself so far as to call her ' Jolly Old England.' " Transplanted into the New World, the Englishman has already assumed a type varying somewhat from that we have described — the Yankees, as the Indians call them, that is to say, the silen men (Ya-no-ki), have lost in North America the general character and physiognomy which they possessed in the mother-country. A new type, moral and physical, approaching more to that of the Hosted by G00gle m THE WHITE EACE. Southern Eed Indians, has been formed among the inhabitants of North America, which type is exaggerated towards the West, where men are rougher and coarser than in the North. Latin Family. The Latin family originated in Italy, whence it extended its conquests over a large portion of Europe, Asia, and Africa, thus forming the Eoman empire. At the present time the Latin languages are spoken only in certain portions of this vast empire, namely, in Italy, Spain, France, and some other countries in the south-east of Europe. The people who belong to the Latin family are, in general, of a middle stature, with black hair and eyes, and a complexion susceptible of turning brown under the sun's action ; but they present many variations. They speak numerous dialects, which frequently become confounded one with another. Among the people who form the Latin family are separately classed : the French, the Spaniards, the Italians, and the Moldo- Wallachians. French. — The Franks proceeded from the mixture of the Gauls with the ancient inhabitants of the land, that is, the people who in olden times were indifferently called Aquitanians or Iberians, and of whom a few are still to be found in the Basque inhabitants of the lower regions of the Pyrenees, recognized at once by their language, which is that of the old Iberians. But who were these Gauls, who, by combination with the national blood of the Iberians, formed the Franks ? The Gauls were a branch of the Celts (or Gaels), an ancient race of men, who coming from Asia, at an early period overran and occupied a portion of Western Europe, more particularly that portion which now forms Belgium, France as far as the Garonne, and a part of Switzerland. Later on, the Celts or Gaels extended their conquests as far even as the British Isles. It was in the twelfth or tenth century before Christ that they invaded Gaul, and subdued the indigenous Iberian population. Of their Asiatic origin the Celts preserved no more than a few dogmas of Eastern worship, the organization of a priestly sect, and a language, which, through its close connection with the sacred language of the Indian Brahmins, reveals the kinship which united these people with those of Asia. Hosted by G00gle EUROPEAN BRANCH. 67 The Celts were a nomadic people, and lived essentially by hunt- ing and pasturage. The men were very tall : their height being, it has been asserted, from six to seven feet. ' Many tribes dyed their skin with a colour extracted from the leaf of the woad. Others tattooed themselves. Many adorned their arms or breasts with heavy chains of gold, or clothed themselves in tissues of bright colours, analogous to the Scotch tartan. Later on they gave themselves up to greater luxury. Above their tunic they wore the saya, a short cloak, striped with purple bands and embroidered with gold or silver. Among the poorer classes this saya was replaced by the skin of some animal, or by a cloak of coarse and dark-coloured wool. Others wore the simar, which is analogous to the modern blouse or the caraco of the Normandy peasants. The second article of dress worn by the Gaelic men, was a tight and narrow form of trouser, the braya. The women wore an ample puckered tunic with an apron. Some restricted their dress to a leathern bag. Their weapons consisted of stone knives, axes furnished with sharp flint or shell points, clubs, and spears hardened in the fire. Celtic stone hatchets are common in the West of France. The Celts were warlike and bold. They marched against the •enemy to the sound of the kamux, a sort of trumpet, the top of which represented a wild beast crowned with flowers. As soon as the signal was given, the front rank threw itself stark naked and impetuously into the struggle. Leading a wandering form of life, the Celts constructed no fixed habitations. They moved from one pasturage to another in covered waggons, erecting simple cabins, which they abandoned after a few days. They sometimes took shelter in caves, sleeping upon a little straw, or the skins of animals spread upon the earth. More frequently, however, they ate and slept under the open sky. Fond of tales and recitations, they appear to have been in- quisitive and garrulous. Their habits were peaceful. A branch of the Celtic family, the Cymris, who, like their pre- decessors, originally came from Asia, overran the fertile plains which extend from the moorlands at Bordeaux to the mouth of the Rhine, their course being arrested toward the west only by the ocean, toward the east by the Vosges, and toward the south- east by the mountains of Auvergne and the last ridges of the t 2 Hosted by G00gle 68 THE WHITE KACE. Pyrenees and the Cevennes, The Cymris, or Belgians, brought with them the simplicity of the north, and having built towns, called upon the Gaels to join them. These two groups, distinct in themselves although of the same race, lived apart in some countries, while in others they held supremacy. The Irish and the Highlanders of Scotland were Gaels. The Gaelic element also predominated in Eastern France. The inhabitants of Wales, Belgium, and Brittany belonged to the Cymrian branch; but the Romans confounded these two races under the general name of Britons in Great Britain, and Gauls in Gaul. We will briefly review the physical types, manners, and customs of the Gauls. At the time when Julius Csesar invaded and conquered the Gauls, they were distinguished as the northern, north-eastern, western, and southern Gauls. The first were remarkable for the abundance and length of their hair ; hence their name of long- haired Gauls. Those of the south and south-east were known as the braya-ivearing Gauls. The Gauls used artificial means of giving to their hair a bright red colour. Some allowed it to fall around their shoulders ; others tied it in a tuft above the head. Some wore only thick mustachios, others retained the whole beard. When arming for battle, the Gauls donned the saya. They used arrows, slings, one-edged swords in iron or copper, and a sort of halberd, which inflicted terrible wounds. A metal casque, ornamented with the horns of the elk, buffalo, or stag, covered the head of the common soldier, that of the rich warrior being adorned with flowing plumes, while figures of birds or wild . beasts were wrought upon the crest. The buckler was covered with hideous figures. Beneath a breast-plate of wrought-iron the warrior wore a coat of mail, the produce of Gallic industry. He further adorned himself with necklaces ; and the scarves of the chiefs glittered with gold, silver, or coral. The standard con- sisted of a wild boar, formed of metal or bronze, and fixed at the end of a staff. The Gauls dwelt in spacious circular habitations, built of rough stones, cemented together with clay, or composed of stakes and hurdles, filled up with earth within and without. The roof, ^rhich was ample and solid, was composed of strong planks cut Hosted by G00gle EUROPEAN BRANCH. 69 into the form of tiles, and of stubble or chopped straw kneaded with clay. The wealthy Gaul, besides his town residence, possessed a country house. His wooden tables were very low, and in them excavations were made which answered the purpose of plates and dishes. The guests sat upon trusses of hay or straw, upon hassocks formed of rushes, or forms with wooden backs. They slept in a kind of press, formed of planks, similar to those which are met with in some cottages of Brittany and Savoy. They had earthen vessels, of delicate grey or black pottery, more or less ornamented, and brazen vases. They used horns as drinking- vessels. The Gauls ate little bread, but a great deal of roast or boilA meat. As a rule, they tore with the teeth pieces which they held in their hands. The poor drank beer, or other less costly beverages ; the rich, aromatic wines. The beauty of the Gallic women was proverbial. The elegance of their figure, the purity of their features, and the whiteness of their skins, were universally admired. To captivate these fierce men they made abundant use of coquetry. In order to heighten the freshness of their complexions, they bathed themselves with the foam of beer, or chalk dissolved in vinegar. They dyed their eyebrows with soot, or a liquid extracted from a fish *called orphi. Their cheeks they coloured with vermilion, and dressed their hair with lime in order to make it blond, and «^ 20.— SPANISH PEASANT, Hosted by LrOOgle A L/liLAL 3M 22.— SPANISH LADY AND DUENNA. kept up by a broad belt of silk or brightipe<8i£^fedgfe>ol. Th hose consist of eaiters. kent in «lnr»P lw m^s nf a h™aA M™, a | / \_, v l. f f ind the body : this is the cloak. 23.— THE FAKDASGO. The peasants are to be seen to best advant&ged m^Q^^Bxket- i*j.i xi i : j.i_ •„ „ **A J^a«« DO THE WHITE KACE. Their black hair is rolled into bunches above the temples, and carried to the back of the head, where it forms an enormous chignon, through which passes a long needle of silver-gilt. In some of the preceding cuts we have given the costumes of the inhabitants of Valencia, Xeres, Cordova, Toledo, and Madrid, as also types of Spanish physiognomy. In Spain, dancing is a national feature. The dance scarcely varies in different provinces, but generally reflects the character of the people, who accompany it with songs and national melodies. They can hardly have enough of singing and dancing the Fandango (fig. 23), and the Bolero (fig. 24). Portugal abuts on Spain, and its people merit some portion of our consideration. The Portuguese women are frequently pretty, and sometimes actually beautiful. They have abundant hair, their eyes are earnest, soft, and penetrating, and their teeth excellent. Their feet are rather large, but their hands are very delicate. Their forms are well set, and strongly, though somewhat sturdily built ; their joints are small, their complexion sallow, their movements are confident. Their well shaped heads are well placed, and the modest ease with which they wear the short jupon and broad felt hat, imparts to these articles of dress a certain elegance. The inhabitants of Ponte de Lima are of small stature, and possess fine vigorous forms. The country people are worthy of special notice, they make brave and steady soldiers, who are easily amenable to discipline, and robust and intelligent work- men. There is nothing veiy noteworthy about the dress of the peasantry, except as regards that of the women. The petticoat is plaited, short, and sometimes rolled up, so as to expose to view their legs, which are usually bare. The bodice, which is furnished with two or three silver buttons, displays the form. Being separated from the petticoat, it permits the chemise to puff out around the body, while the sleeves of that garment are wide and usually worn turned up. The head-dress consists of a large black felt hat, frequently adorned with bows of ribbon, and almost always furnished with a white kerchief, the folds of which fall down over the neck and shoulders. Long earrings, and even necklaces and chains of gold, complete the picturesque costume in which yellow, red, and bright green, predominate. Hosted by G00gle ^ ,__ • r\T 4llOCrA +-n-r%rtct 4-rtlj-rt%-» -A* y-V-WV* •*-» rt 4-t-i -m/v •rrrrk wrrvTll/l f% Oil +1 EUROPEAN BRANCH. 97 girl from the quarter on the banks of the Tiber called Transtevera, and also to fig. 29, which is a faithful portrait of peasants from around Eome. It would be a fruitless task, were we, in studying the modem Eomans, to seek among them traces, more or less eradicated, of the old Eoman blood. In a population which has been so degraded, oppressed, and polluted as this, by ages of slavery and obscurity, we should find nought but disturbance and chaos. We can make no refer- ence to family life in this land of convents and celibacy, nor speak of intellectual faculties in a country where we see a jealous tyranny narrowing the minds of the inhabitants, and an authority that is seated in the blackest darkness, moulding body and mind in ignorance of morality and education. We should need the greatest power of penetration to find, in the effeminate and dege- nerate population of Modern Eome, the genius of the ancient conquerors of the world. There are, however, reasons for hoping, that Eome, being now released from Papal authority, and having, since the year 1871, become the Capital of Italy and the residence of King Victor- Emmanuel, will gradually cease to feel the preponderance of the sacerdotal element. Young Eomans playing the favorite Italian game, la mora, with its usual accompaniment of gesticulations and. shouts, is a very common street scene. The two persons playing this game raise their closed fists in the air, and then, in letting them fall, open as many fingers as they may think proper. At the same time they call out some number. The winner is he, who, by chance, calls out the number represented by the sum of all the fingers exhibited by the two players. If, for ex- ample, I call out jive, and at the same time open two fingers, whilst my adversary displays three, which added to mine make Jive, the number called by me, I am winner. The arms of the two players are raised and lowered at the same time, and the numbers are called simultaneously, with great rapidity and regu- larity, producing a very singular result and one incomprehensible to a stranger. La mora is played all over Italy. But it is not alone in the city of Eome that the characteristic features of the ancient Latin race are to be found ; the traveller h Hosted by G00gle WWi VA U11V Villl-JUllUl 1 f V^A UdOOillt: 1/ 111 K/ lACi XX WiU Q U. WAX fc_/ O \J± KllV V/ttjJ^A Frascati or Tivoli, will still encounter vestiges of the old Lath hidden beneath the sad garments of misery. (Fig 29.) 29.— STREET AT TIVOLI. It may be said that Kome at the presently Sot°$l§t conven 111 if th A nrtnl/\rr»rt«ii Art! *%/\«Miln4-i Ark hrtlrl^ mr\ ikvi nnv+on+ ■n/-*Ol4- i rvii r» n Hosted by ' 100 THE WHITE KACE. City its austerity, not to say, its public sadness and moral languor. We shall therefore close our series of picturesque views of the inhabitants of Modern Eome, by glancing at the costumes of the principal dignitaries of the ecclesiastical order, their representation in fig. 30 being followed by the reproduction of a well-known picture, representing the Exaltation of Pio IX. (fig. 31). The Latin type, which physically if not morally is met with in a state of purity at Eome, and in the Roman Campagna, has, on the other hand, undergone great modification in the provinces of the North, as well as in those of Southern Italy. Let us first con- sider the Northern provinces. Northern Italy, endowed to perfection with natural advantages, washed by two seas, watered by the tributaries of a large river, possessing land of extraordinary fertility, nourishes a race in which the Latin blood has mingled with that of the German and Gaul. In Tuscany and the neighbourhood are, as we have said, the descendants of the old Etruscans, and further north are the offspring of Germanic and Gallic races. The designs which adorn the Etruscan sarcophagi, originally brought, it is said, from Northern Greece, have preserved the physical form and appearance of these people. They are bulky, and of heavy make. The men wear no beard, and are clothed with a tunic which in some cases is thrown over the back of the head. Some hold in the left hand a small goblet, and in the right, a bowl. They repose in an easy posture, resting the body on the left side, as do also the women. The women wear a tunic, sometimes fastened below the breast by a broad girdle, which is furnished with a circular clasp, and a peplum which in many cases covers the back of the head. They hold in one hand an apple, or some fruit of the same appearance, and in the other a fan. This is the portrait of the Etruscan which has been handed down to us. Tuscany, of all Italy, is that portion which most strongly represents the mildness, the order, and the industrious activity of modern Italy. The natural richness of the soil is there en- hanced by a capable system of cultivation. The arts peacefully flourish in this land of great painters, sculptors, and architects. The habits of the people, both of the upper and lower classes, are gentle and peaceful. There is here a state of general prosperity added to a fair amount of education. The poor man here, does '••. •' Hosted by G00gle b, as in umer uouuuies, losier n euiupiHiiuug mm nosuie ieeiiiij; dnst the rich ; all entertain a consciousness of their own 31.— EXALTATION OF TOPE PIUS IX. Hosted by G00gle t n *• 102 THE WHITE KACE. and tolerant. .Women are loved and respected, and this respect corresponds in religion with the worship of the Virgin. At Florence and in Tuscany we meet that Italian urbanity, which, by the French, who are unable to -understand it, is impro- perly termed obsequiousness. This attribute of the Italian is veiy far from servile ; it comes from the heart. A universal kindly feeling welcomes the stranger, who experiences much pleasure among this conciliatory and friendly people, and with difficulty tears himself away from this happy country, where all seem bathed in an atmosphere of art, sentiment, and goodness. Southern Italy will show us a very different picture from that we have just described. The proximity to Africa has here much altered the physical type of the inhabitants, while the yoke of a long despotism has much lowered the social condition, through the misery and ignorance it has produced. The mixture of African blood has changed the organic type of the Southern Italian to such an extent, as to render him entirely distinct from his northern compatriots; the exciting influence, which the mate has over the senses, imparting to his whole conduct a peculiar exuberance. Hence there is much frivolity and little consistency in his character. In the town and neighbourhood of Naples we meet a combina- tion of the features we have just considered. Let us betake ourselves for a moment thither, and take a rapid view of the strange population, which from early dawn is to be met in the streets, singing, begging, or going about their day's work. Fig. 32 shows us a shop of dealers in macaroni in the market- place' (mercatello), and fig. 33 the indispensable water-carrier. The most favourable time for examining the great variety of types which unite in the population of Southern Italy, is on the occasion of the public festivals which are so numerous at Naples. This curious mixture may be investigated in the crowds of people who frequent the festival of Piedigrotta, where are to be found examples of every Greek and Latin race. Here are to be seen the Procidan women (isle of Prod da, near Naples), who still retain the ancient simar, the kerchief which falls loosely around the head, and the classic profiles with straight noses (fig. 34). In Southern Italy, these daughters of ancient Greece still wear the golden diadem and silver girdle of Homer's matrons. The Capuatt woman throws around her head a veil similar to that Hosted by G00gle #^ '^L knots in the manner shown in Greek statues. The men of the parts, moreover, clothe themselves in sheepskins during tl winter, and wear sandals, fastened with leathern thongs. Tl Etruscans, the Greeks, the Romans, and even the Normans, ha1 33.— NEAPOLITAN ICED-VATEIt SELLER. 34. -NEAPOLITAN PEASANT WOMAN. left their traces in this country, whose population forms such a curious mixture. Not less remarkable are, in this beautiful country, the peasantry of the mountains and the sea-coast. The most varying forms and the richest colours are to be met with, from the coarse cloth drawers and shirt of the fisherman^t© b>tfooots, &- 3 . i» - -.1 >- — .. wvnuwu "»» "«" <* uiuau Liuiieu up I nil. X ne URI H 01 by peasants in the neighbourhood of Moscow is pointed an almost without a lim. The women wear boots like the men : they also wear the touloupi with a shawl and kerchief over the head and shoulders. It : only on fete days that this wretched costume gives place t 46. — LIVONIAN PEASANTS. aprons and shawls, of bright colour, and even embroidered in gold and silver. The head-dresses are elegant, and vaiy in the different provinces. The pleasures of a Russian peasant are always ofi a serious character. The quick and sparkling expansion aifcl gaietv oi CJ_..xl_ Itic, informs* us, that at Riga the houses are comfortable and 11 appointed ; that immense stoves preserve a temperature of 68° more in vast apartments, guarded from without by double idows and double doors: that persons leaving the house eelop themselves in a fur robe, which leaves no form distin- ishable, so that it is difficult to say whether the individual in 47.— TARTAR OF KASAK. estion is a man or woman : that at night, the bed is small, low, mished with one or two leathern mattresses and some sheets a tie larger than napkins. They live in a hot-house atmosphere, e ah* of which is not often enough renewed. The Cossacks form in Russia rather a military caste than a stinct people. They seem to be descended from the Rousniaks ixed with other people, chiefly Circassians. They frequently ve longer faces, more prominent noses, andbyfi^os^ligreater ifimf *f nan +V10 Pnocionc T\i*s\inAi»l IT Ceop\&^Y4^Q$mk$ and r\ f\ T. j-\ ft s\ 1 1 7 /» wrlTrt V»rtT.rx ir»,c\4>rf-* ■»■■-* *% ^1 Li1^ »-»■»-» i^U r4 i rx I s\ s*4-a 50.— RUSSIAN KORTH-SEA PIL^*fd by ^°°gle EUROPEAN BRANCH. 129 ing east of the Oural, and have undergone such mixture with the Turks and Mongolians as to have adopted to a great extent their characteristics. The Ostiaks who dwell upon the banks of the Obi appear to have preserved in much greater perfection the characteristics of the Finns. They are a people devoted to hunting and fishing, with red hair, very uncivilized, and partly idolatrous. Madame Eva Felinska, during an exile in Siberia, inspected, as far as possible, the Ostiak huts. These habitations were so foul, and gave forth such putrid miasmas, that, notwithstanding her curiosity, this lady was unable to remain in them more than a minute. The Ostiaks cover their skins with a layer of rancid fat, over which they wear a reindeer skin. They eat uncooked fish or game, this being their ordinary food. But from time to time they go with large buckets of bark to Berezer, where they collect, and devour as delicacies, the refuse of the kitchens. Fig. 51 represents an Ostiak hut. The Finns of Eastern Eussia comprise the Baskirs, the Teptiars, and the Metscheriaks of the Southern Oural: three small peoples who speak Turkish dialects mingled with Finnish words, and who exist in very much the same way. The Baskirs are the most numerous ; they are engaged in rearing horses and bees. Like the Cossacks they furnish bodies of cavalry to the Russian army. The Finns of the Volga comprise the Tchoavachians, Tchere- missians and Moadueinites, who likewise speak dialects interspersed with Turkish words : a short time since they turned their atten- tion to husbandry. Certain populations scattered through the governments of Perm, Vologda, Orenburg, and Viatka, are the remains of a people of some consideration, formerly independent, civilized, and com- mercial, whom the Russians subdued, and to a large extent absorbed : these are the Permians. The Finns of the Baltic, or Finns properly so called, have been long under the rule of Teutonic nations, and have generally preserved the characteristics of the family we have described above. Among them are distinguished the Livonians, Esthonians, Ischorians, Kyrials, Ymes or Finlanders, and Quaines, who are respectively the remains of the ancient inhabitants of Livonia, Hosted by G00gle A-rf U U+-A. \-/ ■* with the Slavonians and Teutons. During the last century t Quaines pushed forward to the extremity of Norwegian Laplan of which they at present form the principal population. Bulgarians, Servians, and Bosniaks or inhabitants of Flavim — In order to describe these, we need do no more than refer 51. — OSTIAK HUT. the general facts which have been stated above with referer to the Southern Slavonians. We will merely borrow a f descriptions and illustrations from the work of M. Geo] Perrot, a French writer, " Voyage chez les Slaves clu Stu published in 1870, and well known on account of the exceih history it contains of his travels in Asia Miia^Google M. George Perrot travelled through Slavonia. Croatia. *Rnsn no TOT^t A •*.»••■ *^-r* tiie mussumian possessions, anawnicn ueaisme name 01 lviuut Confines. 53.— SLAVONIAN PEASANT, C^r\r\n]t> Hosted by VjQOQ lc Slavonia. While halting at the borough of Vouka, situated a few leagues VALERIA / '. ' : ,'' J 54.— A PEASANT OF ESSEK. >m Essek, M. George Perrot thus describes the peasants of ese parts. u The majority of the men around us have hair which is blond of different shades of chestnut. Although miielUjifi^l^y the 134 THE WHITE HACK eyes especially, whicli are bright and sparkling, and sometimes blue, though more frequently of a dark grey, are charming. The lower portion of their face is less agreeable ; the chin is usually prominent, and the lips are rather thick. " Then- costume recalls that met with in the East. The men wear a slouch hat of black felt with the edges turned up, a linen shirt, and full trousers down to the ankle ; this in hot weather, when they are in working order, forms the whole dress. One or two loungers, who joined us, were more completely dressed than this. " They wore large boots of thick leather, and over the shirt a waistcoat of blue cloth, adorned in front, with white metal buttons, and behind, with embroidery in yellow or white. On another occasion, when we were on the boat, we saw some men who, in addition to this, wore, over the waistcoat, a short cape or half-cloak, which did not fall lower than the waist, and of which, as a rule, the sleeves were allowed to hang loose. In winter, they add to these, warm robes of sheepskin or large mantles, which put me in mind of the rough overcoats worn by our waggoners. "As to the women, they make me think of the Albanians of Attica. This fine September afternoon, they are wearing a long chemise, embroidered with eyelet holes and coloured patterns ; this chemise, which leaves the neck very open, would reach to the ground, but in order to permit of freer movement in the fields or at home, it is hitched up, and supported by a coloured girdle, wound two or three times round the body ; being thus held up, the chemise forms elegant and symmetrical folds, falling in front as low as the ankle, while behind, it extends to about half way down the calf of the leg. Over the head is thrown, in various fashions, a kerchief, which is usually white, but which on festive occasions is embroidered with silver and gold ; the ends of this fall down the back, or over the bosom, as may suit the taste of the wearer. When the best dress is donned, a cloth apron, the* colour and pattern of which bear a resemblance to the carpets which I have met with in Servia and Bosnia, hangs down to the knees ; over the chemise is worn a species of waistcoat without sleeves, and ornamented with gold or silver embroidery. In winter, they guard against the cold by wearing over all a thick overcoat of sheepskin. All the garments worn bv the women are Hosted by G00gle nter evenings." M. George Perrot remained for rather a long period in the 55. — HERDSMEN OF THE MILITARY CONFINES. rovinces now called the Militari/ Confines or Frontiers, and he escribes the miserable state in which the Slavonian peasantry rist there, where they are obliged to live side by side with wild ordes of Mussulman soldiers or pandours. Hosted by Google TTitfiirA 55 shivnrs npasants of these districts returning from 56.-WOMAN OF THE MILITARY fflgGRySoOgle EUROPEAN BRANCH. 137 Figure 56 is given by the author as a type of the Slavonian women who inhabit the Military frontiers. Let us quote a few more of this traveller's impressions. " What struck me in all the villages of the Confines through which I passed, were the guard stations, before which loitered, or slept beside their guns, suspended on the wall, five or six Grcinzer. In summer, they wear merely, their trousers and shirt of coarse white cloth, and sometimes a sort of brown jacket with red facings, which they also wear for field work. In winter they are seen enveloped in their large hooded cloaks of red cloth ; and, thus equipped and armed, guard their flocks on the moors. The state furnishes them, for exercise and service, with guns similar to those used by regiments of the line ; but when not on duty, many of them prefer long guns of Albanian manufacture or shape, with swallow-tailed stocks. These guns are transmitted from father to son for several generations. Besides these, they wear in their girdles, one or two pistols, and a kind of dagger with a bone handle inlaid with coral or glass. In this guise they have rather the appearance of Bosniak bachibozouks, than of civilized subjects of His Majesty Francis Joseph, constitutional Emperor of Austria, and King of Hungary. Their uniform, consisting of a blue trouser fitting close to the leg, and a vest of black or white wool, is only produced on field days, or in war. "But what is it that these sentinels are guarding? This is just what I have never been able to understand. .No enemy, from Belgrade to Sissek, was threatening; and these villages are exposed to no more disorder than those of the neighbouring provinces, where they dispense with all this armed exhibition. This, there- fore, is another of the useless and erroneous consequences of the military regime : here are hands taken day after day from their labour in the fields, and with no greater advantage than that of acquiring the habits of idleness and drunkenness, usually con- tracted during the period of barrack-room inactivity." In Fig. 57 we represent one of the military stations of the Confines, with the guards belonging to it, called Granzers. " All those who have lived for some time among the Granzers, have been struck with their indolent apathy, their careless and continued idleness. For whose sake should they exhaust them- selves with work? Under the rules of their community, their wives and children are almost beyond want. As regards Hosted by G00gle "J J and fields, to encounter death in Italy, or on some othe frontier ; would it not be madness to expose themselves to priva tion and fatigue in view of a future upon which they have n means of reckoning ? Besides this, does their property, whic S7.~ GRANZERS AND THEIR GUARD-HOUSE. they can neither render as valuable as they wish, nor sell o bequeath as they may think proper, belong to them sufficiently t give them any pleasure or profit in its improv«B4^9gkrhey hav jqlk 58 TSrflAXR PRISONER. 140 THE WHITE RACE. not aid, what is the use of working ? ' Being accustomed to rely only, as they say, 'Upon God and the Emperor,' they refuse to re- cognize the advantages to be gained from any modern invention, better tools, or more advanced methods of cultivation. ' Thus I found it, and thus I will leave it,' is a saying of which they often make use in speaking of their patrimonial domain. "The only thing which, in spite of all the shackles which enchain and benumb their limbs, would have been able to arouse their minds and impart to them some desire for progress, is in- struction. But ignorance is profound in the Military Confines; the regimental schools that exist are very insufficient both in number and quality; in certain districts, especially in Southern Croatia, the villages are so distant from one another, that the children, who do not dwell in the borough where the school is, are unable, without difficulty, to go there at any time. Besides, why should the government do much as regards instruction ? It is clear, that, if the people of the Confines were better taught, they would be less resigned to their hard lot. If it rested entirely with the government, the schoolmaster would be entirely banished from these parts. " Upon the banks of the Danube and of the Save, where the Con- fines abut upon the river, which is continually traversed by packet- boats, travellers, and merchandize, the people of the frontiers have nevertheless daily communication with the inhabitants of the neighbouring provinces, and even with strangers. This contact somewhat opens their minds and suggests new ideas ; but it is chiefly in Southern Croatia, in the districts called Banal and Karlstadt, that the characteristic features of the Grdnzer are most frequent and striking. There commences, south-east of Karl- stadt, what is termed the dry -frontier ; this is no longer a water- course such as the Danube or Save, but aline purely conventional, forming the boundary between Austria and Turkey. " Surprises and hand to hand combats were recently matters of frequent occurrence upon this frontier, which is more difficult to define and to preserve ; at the commencement of this century, certain forts, and other places, such as Zettin, which the Turks assaulted in 1809 and 1813, were still the subject of dispute. Here, moreover, the Frontier territory is no longer from fifteen to twenty kilometres, but from five to six myriametres broad ; the people subject to the military regime, here, therefore, form a Hosted by G00gle EUROPEAN BRANCH. 141 more homogeneous and compact mass. Cases of armed brigan- dage, and assassinations, which were very common in the whole of this country, are now becoming rarer; but theft is the crime which requires most frequent punishment. The ancestors of the Granzers lived chiefly by plunder, and such habits are not removed in a day." M. Perrot made a journey in Bosnia, down the course of the river Save. He stopped in a borough of this province, of which he speaks thus : — " After a visit to the Bosniak priest, we wandered about the town, where we made several small purchases with a view to smuggling. I replenished my pouch with a Bosnian tobacco which is by no means so good as that of Macedonia. I purchased a rug such as are worked also by the women of Slavonia and the Military Confines : this is not, like the tissues of Persia and Anatolia, thick and soft, but a rather thin and dry quality of cloth.', Here, also, in designs and in combination of colour, are found the same innate taste, and the same boldness which is met with usually in oriental workmanship. The Slavonian women, in Austria as in Turkey, would be no unworthy rivals of the Turcoman women, who, in the neighbourhood of Smyrna, and from the high meadow-lands of the Taurus down to the low deserts of Persia, execute, beneath their black tents of goat or camel hair, those marvellous pieces of needlework, for which, at the present time, we pay so high a price. The inferiority of the products of this domestic industry in Turkey in Europe, is attributable to the fact, that, here the women being within comparatively easy distance of large markets, filled with European wares, are enabled to procure there wools suited to their wants, already dyed by industrial processes : but it will be understood that the colours thus obtained, which are produced with a view to cheapness and variety, are far from possessing the fresh and durable tints of those colours, few in number, always the same, and almost all obtained from the animal and vegetable worlds, the secret of which has been handed down in the bazaars of the East, and under the tents of the nomadic tribes, from the time when Nineveh, Babylon, Susa, Tyre, and Sidon, were at the height of their prosperity. " Our purchases at an end, we returned along the banks of the Hosted by G00gle KJ JL which had just been purchased in Bosnia, I amused myself tr noting the picturesque mixture of costumes and types which th bank, on which were most of the market people, offered. : t '9 59. — BOSNIAK PEASANT. " Here was a jobbing blacksmith, who had set up his shop in the open air, hammering and putting in order the pots which were brought to him ; or sharpening with his haaiagifeipcfcfc^ points oi lono1 irrm r.la.YYine iiqa/I in nnnrtont ill a rnft.er 63. — HUNGARIANS. The Magyars are distinct from other people in their langui and costumes. They are of medium height, with black hair. Their charac is warlike, and their state of civilization is superior to that of other branches of the Slavonian family. In his " Causeries Gdographiques," (fr©mby^aS@gkBucharei ided attractions. In dress, they do not differ much from the 64.— A HUNGARIAN GENTLEMAN. Hosted by G00gle ' covered wixn lace ruraes ; a jacket uuuy, eiuier reu, oiacji, green, embroidered at the back with fringes and silver butto sets off a slender and supple form. A light, very ample, often rather short petticoat ; a silken or velvet scarf thrown o one shoulder a la hussarde ; the national high brimmed hat s 65. — HUNGARIANS. mounted by a plume of feathers as head-dress ; well turned f and ankles, in embroidered shoes, or sometimes in little spur] boots of red morocco, form the Hungarian costume, represen in figs. 63, 64 and 65. The markets which are held on the quays, have also pecul features. You see there, says M. Duruy, groxros which call mind the savage hordes of Attila. M. I)uray afin^beheved EUROPEAN BRANCH. 149 projecting cheekbones, and hanging mustachios. He was dark, and dressed in a vest of sheepskin, and breeches of coarse cloth, supported at the waist by a scarf falling over his heavily-shod and spurred boots. A large hat, with the edges turned up, covered his head, and beneath it hung two long plaits of hair. The Magyar language is energetic, full of similes, and filled with guttural aspirations which seem derived from the Arabic, while certain soft and caressing intonations remind us of the Italian idiom. National feeling is brisk in the towns and throughout the country. In the latter, it is kept alive by Bohemian songs, and by stories told by the heads of families during the long winter evenings. About the other races composing the Slavonian family, namely, the Croats, the Tchecks, the Lithuanians, and the Poles, we have nothing particular to remark. In general, what we have said at the commencement of this chapter, applies to them with but little modification. The Greek Family. The Greek family comprises the Greeks and the Albanians. These races derive their origin from the ancient tribes known under the name of Pelasgians. The ancient Greeks founded many colonies on the shores of the Mediterranean. In the fourth century before Christ, led by Alexander, they subdued part of Asia, and carried their victorious arms into Egypt. But these conquests were ephemeral. The Greek empire was in its turn subjugated by other races, of whom the principal were the Romans, the Slavonians, and the Scythians. In the present day the Greeks compose but a scanty population, concentrated in the Morea, or scattered in the neighbouring districts. The majority of the people of this race who inhabit the Asiatic continent have adopted even the language of their neighbours, and are merely reputed Greeks because they profess the Greek form of the Christian religion. The ancient Greeks, civilized by intercourse with Egyptian colonists, already afforded an example of advanced culture, at a time when the other European and Asiatic nations were still immersed in barbarism. In spite of the misfortunes of a social decay destined to Hosted by G00gle 150 THE WHITE RACE. terminate in many centuries of subjection, the Greeks have preserved up to our own day the physical characteristics of their ancestors. Everyone knows that the most beautiful development of the brow, the finest shape of the human head, is that we find traced in the sculpture of ancient Greece. It had been supposed that the magnificent heads with the noble outlines, admired in the statues of the Greeks, were not the exact reproduction of nature, and that some features had been exaggerated in the direction of ideal beauty. But, in our own day, the skulls of ancient Greeks have been found whose proportions and whose general outlines demonstrate, that, among the artists of ancient Greece, sculpture did not surpass nature, but restricted its inspiration to types who actually lived. The Apollo Belvidere can therefore be considered as a model, but slightly idealized by art, of the general physiognomy of the ancient Greeks. In his " Travels in the Morea," M. Pouqueville gives a description of the physiognomy of the present Greeks, which enables us to judge of the surprising persistence of the most beautiful types, even in the midst of a social condition so deeply modified. "The inhabitants of the Morea," says M. Pouqueville, " are generally tall and well made. Their eyes are full of fire, their mouth is admirably well formed and full of the most beautiful teeth. The women of Sparta are fan, slender, and dignified in carriage. The women of Taygetus have the gait of Pallas .... The Messenian girl is conspicuous for her plumpness ; she has regular features, large e}'es, and long black hair ; the damsel of Arcadia, hidden under her coarse woollen garments, scarcely allows the regularity of her figure to be perceived . . . ." Here, besides, are the characteristics displayed in their sculp- ture, and which, according to what we have said, may really be considered those of the Greek type. A high forehead, rather a wide distance between the eyes, with the slightest possible depression at the top of the nose ; this last straight or slightly aquiline ; large eyes, opening widely and surmounted by a scarcely arched eyebrow ; a short upper lip, a small or medium sized mouth delicately cut ; and a prominent and well rounded chin. Fig. 66 represents the Greeks of Athens ; fig. 67 a Greek family and the interior of a house at Athens. Hosted by G00gle >rrow a few lilies from an interesting work by M. Prout, " Journey Athens," published in " Le Tour du Monde " in 1862. Let m 66.— GREEKS QF ATH£ s first listen to this traveller speaking to us of the^inhabitants of TreeCe : Hosted by LjOCK?IC 152 THE WHITE RACE. of Thrace and of Macedonia cannot boast so immaculate an origin as the mountaineers of Olympus or of Magnus ; but it is equally certain that from Cape Malea to the Black Sea, and from Smyrna to Corfu, there are ten million individuals who speak Greek, mixed up with a population speaking Slavonic, and that in the plains of Athens, we easily distinguish the Albanian with the narrow temples and the prominent nose, from the Greek with the wide forehead and the high cheek-bones, although their dress is. exactly the same. To converse for an hour with the latter is sufficient to satisfy all doubt as to the authenticity of his origin. " His qualities of mind have remained the same as in the days of Homer: he has still the same aptitude for thorough and rapid comprehension, the same facility of graceful and metaphorical expression. These qualities give to the Greeks so great a superiority over the other races of the East, that they are liked by none of them. The Turks reproach them with being suspicious and dissimulating, because they have opposed craft to force ; the Levantines accuse them of dishonesty in commercial transactions, because they themselves have taken lessons of them, and have often surpassed their instructors. " There is no greater bond of sympathy between them and the other nations on the shores of the Mediterranean. Serious and deliberate in disposition, the tone of their mind is foreign alike to raillery and to the rapidity of dramatic intensity. Their grief pursues a peaceful and elegiac course ; it is with them a latent sorrow, and not a sharp crisis leading to the ecstasies of madness. Whilst Cupid's weapons, in Naples or in Venice for instance, inflict terrible wounds, the arrows of the Athenian god neither keep his victims from repose nor from the pursuit of business. The Greeks have preserved their tragic intonation, and are the true children of that wild Orestes who died at more than eighty years of age from the effects of an accident. In their minds, action always takes its course with deliberation and gravity, not without a certain amount of colouring, but never widely straying from reality; interrogating and holding council with itself, and taking time for reflection before making its decision. "It is astonishing to meet with these analytical and foreseeing tendencies, even among the most ignorant. Above alienations Hosted by G00gle 9« K\^vr A- 154 THE WHITE EACE. they best understand the art of listening, and whilst saying a great deal are the smallest talkers in the world. " Everybody is familiar with the Greet dress : the short pelisse, the skirt, which goes by the name of fystan, the small fez with its tufted tassel falling on the nape of the neck of the wearer, and the embroidered gaiter fitting tight to the leg. The sailors, instead of the fystan, wear a very wide pair of trousers, and stockings instead of gaiters. In winter the talagani, a long close-fitting cloak of lambskin, is added to the rest of the dress. The Greeks, generally speaking, tall slender men of regular features, wear this national costume in a very clashing manner. Young Greece carries its dandyism a little to extremes by over pinching its waist, and exaggerating the width of its skirts. During the winter of 1858 it was the fashion to wear the entire beard. I trust that this fancy, which gave them the appearance of sappers in petticoats, has disappeared ; the finely trimmed mustachios, revealing the lips, are better suited to their delicately chiselled features as well as to their refined and fanciful style of dress. But alas ! Athens every day sees the pure gold of its ancient costume bartered for the dross of modern broadcloth fresh from the shelves of the tailor's shop. Athens now boasts seventy tailors and fifty shoemakers who make in the French style, whilst only six of the former, and three of the latter still work in the spirit of their national traditions. There are sixty-two shops for the sale of female attire, but only three or four ladies are to be seen still faithful to their national dress (I except the maids of honour to the Queen, who wear it by order), and even in their case one half has disappeared. The corsage cut down upon the neck and the taktikios (cap) of Smyrna still remain ; but the long narrow skirt has allowed itself to become swollen by the insinuating arts of conspiring crinoline. The style of dress in the islands is more commonplace, but the great quantity of garments worn one over the other remind one of the childish simplicity of the outlines of our own peasant women. I much prefer, in spite of its stifihess, the long Albanian robe worn by the women of the interior. " It is particularly at Agora that specimens of all the peasantry of the neighbourhood may be seen walking about in their picturesque costumes. "This Agora is not the ancient Agora of Ceramica; it is a Hosted by G00gle EUROPEAN BRANCH. 155 market-place, composed of worm-eaten sheds roofed in with ragged cloths, in which are exhibited produce of all sorts, from the bursting figs of Asia Minor to the patent preparations of Parisian perfumers. " On each side of this market-place stands a spectre of antiquity, the tower of the Winds, or clepsydrum of Andro- nicus, an octagonal monument engraved with passably mediocre figures, and the portico of Minerva Archigetis. Archaeologists after noticing the first, hasten across the spacious vestibule to visit the second, but those, who are indifferent alike to the criticisms of Martius and of Leake, prefer to pause on the threshold of the market, particularly in the early morning when the peasantry, ' Seated in their chariots of Homeric pattern, Like the ancient Isis on the basso-relievos of Egina,' pour in from the highways from Thebes and Marathon. I have said that the men were distinguished for regular symmetry of countenance; but the peasant women are simply ugly. Of middle height, robust, and sunburnt, they have no feminine attributes, in the meaning we give to the word. In commercial circles and among the Phanariots, who come principally from Asia, where the race has remained pure, there are, on th'e contrary, many really beautiful women to be seen. Oriental languor gives them a charm unknown in our country ; but they walk badly, and are wanting in that elegance of style which French women possess in such a high degree. " They are rarely to be seen walking out, they seldom leave their houses where they busy themselves with domestic occupa- tions, and employ their leisure in reading romances, principally translated from the French. " Although class distinctions are gradually disappearing, there are still in Athens two distinct sets of society ; the Phanariot, and the Greek, properly so called; the first already quite Europeanized, the second on the high road to become so. The Phanariot ladies are well educated and speak French admirably. The others, whose information is extremely limited, have an instinctive good sense and a tact never at fault, by no means one of the least subjects of surprise to foreigners. " . . . I have heard it said that the price of the honesty Hosted by G00gle ■ WM 'M'^HHRill KB 7} h ' - .-^^ m^lmll' IIIbIS FT1I13|J |M^B^ ~ lllifflfly>Jjf. !)'! \ i £ ^ |Wi';i:!l ■'►$ WW, 'U /. *FTii^'i' Ei'i EUROPEAN BRANCH. 157 of an English trader was a hundred pounds sterling, and that that of his Greek brother was less. Both are absurd state- ments. It is impossible to draw a hard and fast line in such matters ; opportunity makes the thief. Strangers are every- where the natural prey of the sharper, but not more so at Athens than in any other part of the world. The only difference is that in that city they are more easily taken in, on account of the complication of the currency, this complication being another instance of Bavarian error. Bothschild made an offer to the council of regency to effect a loan payable in coin similar to that struck at the French mint. The council decided that it was more ingenious, and above all more archaic, to shut their eyes to all known standards, and to reintroduce the drachma with its ancient weight. These badly executed coins were exported in ingots, and hopeless calculations about the smallest transaction are the result ; calculations in which the Austrian coins, ugly and disagreeable to the touch, play the principal part, to be finally parted with, with a sense of relief, to the trader, to whatever nation he may happen to belong. " To have done with the subject of Greek probity, which has been so much called into question ; in the country the inhabi- tants are avaricious because they are poor, but they are honest. Travellers who jump to a conclusion from their experience of inn-keepers, porters, cabmen, &c, come to a wrong decision. These classes are everywhere the same. In Athens alone a remarkable self-possession, with a dignified manner, is found, instead of the familiar impudence of Italian facchini, or the deceitful suavity of German attendants. It is worthy of remark that one is never assailed in the streets with the importunity of beggars. These are few in number, for with the Greeks it is a sacred family duty to assist its impoverished members, and the few that do beg, shrink from publicity. The streets of Athens have a peculiar physiognomy. The stranger notices there neither the noisy disturbance of the highways of Naples, nor the methodical activity of those of London. They are rather to be compared with those of some of the provincial towns of France, where the leisured citizens stroll about, and retail to one another the gossip of the hour, remaining apparently permanent fixtures of the pavement. Athens has, on the whole, the appearance of a city where time dies hard ; the male population encamp them- Hosted by G00gle 1^8 THE WHITE RACE. selves during the day in the sunshine of the streets ; the shop- keepers while away the hours, one foot within, and the other without their doorsill; and their customers intermingle the tedious arithmetic of barter with familiar conversation, or button- hole the passer to gossip about the mutual acquaintance that has just passed* Alexander's establishment, amongst others, is one of the principal head-quarters of news. " Linger for an hour in front of the cafe of Beautiful Greece, where Hermes Street and Eolus Street intersect one another, you will see the whole Athenian world pass before you; the nearest lounger will tell you their names. Here comes the politician who is still in the market, there goes the statesman who has already obtained his price. That is Canaris, whose reputation is European, although his person is so puny : there are Chriesis, Metaxas, Mavrocordato, Kangabe, Miaouli, the celebrities of yesterday and to-day. This man, treading as gingerly as if he stepped upon eggs, and throwing uneasy glances around him, is a Chiotian. As he passes, your cicerone scowls, for the Chiotians are not exactly beloved. Popular tradition declares that the Island of Scios was formerly settled by Jews, but this is erroneous, although the Chiotians have a Jewish appear- ance, and, like the children of Israel, are very successful in banking and commerce. Commercial aptitude has always been, in ancient times as well as to-day, the basis of the national character of the Chiotian. < Two reasons/ says M. Lacroix, ' explain this tendency. The position of Scios, situated in the midst of the sea, between Europe and Asia, upon the great maritime highway of ancient commerce, naturally disposed its inhabitants to become traders; while the nature of their island, whose stony soil is little suited to agriculture, rendered such a means of livelihood in part a necessity to them.' " As the trader of Scios can be recognised by his appearance, so the Ionian islander can be distinguished by his speech. The torrent of his eloquence is heard towering above the voices of every group. I have a great admiration for the Ionians. I do not say that human perfection is to be found in these numerous islands, but wonderful natural qualities, in unison with the healthy civiliza- tion bequeathed to them by the Italian republics, are to be seen there. It is but the other day that the ingenious combination of Mr. Gladstone gave Europe an idea of the dignity of their Hosted by G00gle i fBBK . : / "•-*■._ CM/ w f ^4i ft- . 2BBHIII Ml t ^Tv HU ' i* B' £ F .^mL V ■ .„ '•* ■ " £*C 3 1 ft 4' ■ 160 THE WHITE RACE. character, the extent of their patriotism, and the wisdom of their mind. To this Greek good sense they add the fire of the Italian. Active, intelligent, good hearted and honest in their dealings, they attract at once the sympathies of all. "This admixture of which the Athenian population is composed is a curious stud}^. " On the Sunday, everybody leaves the cross roads in front of the Beautiful Greece to frequent the esplanade of Patissia (a cor- ruption from Pachiscliah) ; the men stroll about talking together, and the women, abandoning their household gods for this day only, follow a few paces behind them. The crowd walks round and round a kiosk till a military band placed there has finished playing, and then goes home ; not into the house, however, but into the streets, for during the warm summer nights nearly every- body sleeps al fresco. These sleepers advertise their presence by a continual hum, which is a kind of internal monologue, an echo of the day's conversation, for the Greeks still remain the wittiest and the most eloquent chatterers in the world/' . We place side by side with the Greeks the Albanians, whose language has some relation to Greek. Concentrated in the mountains of their county, they appear to be the lineal represent- atives of the ancient inhabitants of these districts. They are the descendants of the ancient Illyrians, mixed up with the Greeks and the Slavonians. Eestricting themselves almost exclusively to the profession of arms, the Albanians constitute the best soldiers of the Ottoman army. Their numbers scarcely reach two millions, although Albania is of great extent and contains several rather important towns. Albania, part of Turkey in Europe, bounded on the north by Montenegro, Bosnia, and Servia, on the east by Macedon and Thessaly, on the south by the kingdom of Greece, on the west by the Adriatic and Ionian seas, constitutes the pachaliks of Janina, Ilbessan and Scutari. It possesses three seaports, Durazzo, Avlona, and Parga. The most important towns are Scutari, Akhissar, Berat, and Arta. Semi-barbarians, partaking more of the pirate and the brigand than of the cultivator and the labourer, the Albanians pass their lives in a state of petty warfare among themselves. They professed Christianity up to the fifteenth century, but after having under Scanderbeg gloriously resisted the Turkish Hosted by G00gle fi?tMM0blt t- '■'. '■■■■.■■*■.'- **,! Hostfed'by'V^OOQlC 70.— ALBANIAN WOMAX. Hosted by G00gk xu some pans 01 iuoama tne ureeK cnurcn stiii survives, the north, between the sea and the black Drin, the courageo tribe of the Mirdites practise the Eoman Catholic religion a enjoy liberty. Fig, 70 represents the Albanian costume. PORTRAIT OF AN ARMENIAN. Hosted by G00gle CHAPTEE II. AEAMEAN BEANCH. Cuvier has thought fit to give the name of Aramean (derived from the ancient appellation of Syria) to the race of people who inhabit the south-west of Asia and the north of Africa. Since primeval historic times, the Aramaic race developed itself in the south-west of Asia and the north of Africa, and it has remained there up to our own day. It also extended its settlements to the south of Europe, where it became assimilated to the inhabitants of that part of the world. At a period when Europeans were immersed in the depths of ignorance, the Arameans successfully cultivated science and art. But later, whilst progress was making rapid strides amongst the Westerns, the Arameans on the contrary came to a halt ; so that the civilization of these Asiatic races is still pretty much the same as it was two thousand years ago. Christianity sprang up amidst the Arameans, but it made few converts. Mahometanism and Buddhism attracted nearly the whole of this numerous race. Four leading divisions are recognised among the Arameans : the Libyans, the Semitics, the Persians, and the Georgians and Circassians. The Libyan Family. The Libyan Family is composed of the Berbers and the Egyptians. The Berbers. — The Berbers are the race which from very ancient times inhabited the mountains of the Atlas chain, or wandered amidst the deserts of the Sahara. The Berbers are split up into a great number of tribes, of whom the four prin- cipal are, the Kabyles, the Sheilas, the Touariks and the Tibbous. M 2 Hosted by Goog]^' Hosted by GoOgle ARAMEAN BRANCH. 165 The traveller in Kabylia is struck with admiration, for its lofty mountains, the gentle and pleasing undulations of its plains, and its valleys interlaced with the windings of countless streams. Its inhabitants are pastoral, agricultural, and laborious. The head- dress of their women is fashioned to suit their habit of carrying on their head jars of great weight. They balance these by rigidly straightening their waists, round which they wind, some score of times, a girdle of coarse woollen cords. Their garment is simply a piece of woollen cloth fastened together by a couple of pins over the bosom. The Kaybles are not, like the real Arabs, nomadic. They remain, on the contrary, faithful to one spot. Whilst the Arab inhabits a tent, removable at will, and in accordance with the requirements of his family, the Kabyle lives in a stone dwelling, and Ins homestead is a regular village. In truth, the Kabyle is not an Arab ; he is of African origin, a Berber, somewhat modified by the different races that have in turn settled on the African shores of the Mediterranean, but whose customs and physical characteristics have always remained the same. The Eoman armies subdued the Kabyles dwelling on the Mediterranean coasts, and drove them into the mountains. The principal aim of the successive Eoman governors in Africa, was to drain the country of its resources to supply the insatiable require- ments of Rome, and the extravagant liberality continually lavished on its citizens by the Emperors of this capital of the world. Eome thus accepted from Africa but slaves and labourers. Those of the conquered, who were unwilling to pass under the heavy yoke of the Roman governors, abandoned the plains and retired to the mountains, inaccessible retreats, whose ravines and forests offered innumerable obstacles to the cruelty of centurions, and the rapacity of praetors. At a future period, led by enterprising cliieftains, they sallied forth from these natural fortresses to assail and ultimately to definitively repulse the Roman power. To give an idea of the Kabylia of to-day, and of its organization, we will quote a few details from "An Excursion to great Kabylia,,, published in 1867, in " Le Tour du Monde," from the pen of Commandant Duhousset, an officer in the French army. "In Kabylia," he says, "the household composed of the members of one family is termed kharouba; each kharouba forming part of the village or dehera, elects one of its members as Hosted by G00gle J 166 THE WHITE RACE. a dhaman to represent it at the municipal council, and to defend its interests : in a word, to be responsible for it. " The different deheras are further united together under the name of arch. " In each village authority is administered by an amin, elected by turns from each kharouba. It is the duty of this official to watch over the execution of the written laws, drawn up under the name of khanoiin, and which are merely the recital of the customs handed down from time immemorial in Kabylia. " The amin can pronounce no judgment, inflict no fine, without consulting the assembly (djemaa) of his assistants or dhamans, always chosen from the notabilities of the village. This tribunal chooses a secretary (khodja) intrusted with the duty of keeping a public register of its deliberations, and of carrying on all correspondence with the French authorities. The labours of the khodja are remunerated with perquisites of figs, olives, &c. "The supreme command of the tribe is delegated by the French to an amin-el-oumena, whose principal duty is the superintend- ence of his tribe in all matters concerning public order. He is not allowed to interfere in the internal policy of the villages, which govern themselves, each according to its own interpretation of the khanoun. " The djemaa possesses a municipal fund, kept in the hands of an ouhil (manager). This fund is supplied by the fines inflicted by the municipal council and the native officials, and by the rates levied on marriages, births, and deaths. " Each village is divided into two factions, or soff, generally hereditary foes. It is easy to imagine the serious nature of the outrages on public tranquillity, committed by these irreconcilable neighbours, when their mutual interests are at stake." The elections are a constant source of disturbance in the Kabyle villages. The way in which these villages are laid out, their dwellings overlooking one another, makes these struggles very sanguinary ones. Some of the more lofty houses have crenelated parapets, the remainder are loopholed, and the djama (mosque) becomes, on account of the military importance of its upper storey, a regular fortress, assuring the victory to its fortunate possessors. Everybody knows that the French conquered Kabylia in 1857. What most contributed to the submission of the Kabyles, was the \! Hosted by G00gle AKAMEAN BRANCH. 167 promise made to them to respect their customs and their communal elections. This promise was kept, and the respect shown to their local usages not a little contributed to consolidate the French conquest. The Kabyle villages, seen from a distance, look picturesque, but on mixing with their inhabitants and entering their houses, the charm vanishes. The question immediately suggests itself how it is possible for any human beings to dwell in the midst of such universal neglect, and of such hideous filth. " Every Kabyle," says M. Duhousset, " is revoltingly dirty : there are no baths to be found in the whole of Kabylia of the Djujina. The children receive no care. The result of this neglect is frequent ophthalmia, sometimes complete blindness; they are also often subject to cutaneous diseases, or worse hereditary affections, which these mountaineers hand down from generation to generation, continuing to exist in spite of them the women, good mothers who suckle their children up to three or four years of age .... the men, industrious workmen and good agriculturists." The Kabyles are independent in disposition, observant by nature, and fond of labour : but they are inclined to be avaricious, revengeful, and quarrelsome. Some of their villages, as we have shown, are divided into two hostile camps, and in many cases, part of the communal land is set apart for warlike encounters, where all differences are settled by the yataghan and the match- lock. Divorce is one of the sores of Kabyle society. It is well known that Kabylia is a rich, tranquil country, addicted to industry, and possessing a numerous population. But a few statistics will here have a peculiar interest. There are in France eight departments with a smaller popula- tion than Kabylia ; these are, according to M. Duhousset, the Basses-Alpes, the Hautes-Alpes, the Cantal, Corsica, Lozere, the Basses-Pyrenees, the Hautes-Pyrenees, and Tarn-et-Garonne. Three departments are smaller in extent ; the Rhone, the Seine, and Vaucluse. The average population of France is 67-f^ro inhabitants to every square kilometre ; that of Kabylia is 67-n&u- Looking, however, at the average population to every kilometre in each separate department, it appears that twenty-eight have a larger average than Kabylia, one an equal, and fifty-seven a smaller one. Hosted by Google j '/ 168 THE WHITE RACE. The agricultural productions of Kabylia are the ordinary fruits of African culture, especially the fig and the. olive, to which must be added large crops of wheat. Figs are the principal article of food of the inhabitants, and olives the staple of their agricultural industry. During harvest-time the Kabyles cover their- heads with an im- mense straw hat of a pointed shape, with a huge brim, fourteen inches in width, shading their face. A shirt, leaving the arms and legs bare, and a leather apron, similar to that worn by our black- smiths, constitute their da-ess. They reap their corn and barley in small handfuls at a time, and very close to the ground, with a sickle. The thrashing and winnowing is roughly done by oxen. M. Duhousset, who witnessed the harvest and the grinding of the corn, gives the accompanying sketch (fig. 72) of the Kabyle flour- mills. Their olive-mill is very similar to that used in the south of France, only their grindstones are turned by women, who fill the part assigned by us to horses or to a steam-engine. In Kabylia particular care is bestowed on the cultivation of the fig, the principal article of food of the whole country. M. Duhousset took particular notice of the artificial fecundation of the fig-tree, a curious operation totally unknown in France. The fig-tree, as well as the date-tree, is artificially fecundated in Kabylia; in the case of the latter the male flower is merely superimposed on the female blossoms to impregnate them; but with the former it is insects that carry the fertilizing dust. This, process is termed caprification. " Caprification," says M. Duhousset, " has been practised from time immemorial by all the inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast. This curious and important process seemed to me to deserve a special investigation. I have, therefore, coUected a quantity of more or less plausible details and explanations of the manner in which it is carried out, and the advantages derived from this mode of cultivation. " The dokhar is the fruit of the wild fig-tree. It is small, flavourless, and bitter. It is not a very eatable species, and is not cultivated for the sake of food. It is precocious, and becomes ripe when the other figs, still green, have not yet attained their maturity. The tree which produces them— the caper fig-tree- yields two or three crops in the year ; but it is only the first that is generally made use of. Hosted by G00gle mall bunches (moulak) on a string. These strings are suspended o the boughs of the female fig-tree, towards the end of June in be plains, towards the end of July on the mountains. From the tern of each dokhar, when dry, issue a quantity of small winged 72. — GRINDING WHEAT IN THE KABVLIA. asects, which introduce themselves into the fruit on the tree, nstil a new life into it, and prevent it from falling. " These insects, agents of this fecundatiq^e||rgB^^e(i an(* developed in the fruit of the wild fig-tree, and leave it, as soon as 170 THE WHITE EACE. Their body is hairy, like that of the bee, which is known to fulfil an analogous mission towards certain flowers. " These insects are of two kinds, black and red. The first, smaller than the second, do not carry like the latter a sting in their abdomen. The natives assert that the black insect alone plays a useful part in the caprification of the fig — the part played by the wind, the bird, or the hand of man in the instance of the date. A long experience attributes to it the privilege of preserving the figs from perishing and falling before they have become ripe. This custom has given rise to the well-known Kabyle proverb, 'He who is without dokhar is without figs.' The abundance of figs in every locality and under every difference of climate depends upon that of the dokhar. Sometimes, how- ever, the latter, although plentiful, gives birth to but a small number of these preserving insects, as in 1863, when the crop was poor, the dokhar having produced but few insects. " The Kabyles are convinced that one of these insects can pre- serve ninety-nine figs, but that the hundreth becomes its tomb. This is possibly only a popular prejudice ; but it is as well to cite it. Truth among primitive people becomes sometimes crystal- lized in the shape of a superstition, and the inexplicable pervades everything. " Caprification takes place at least once a year. When the dokhar is abundant it is prudent to repeat the process several times at short intervals, and it is most important that it should be performed at the proper moment, either in the autumn or in the spring, or the crop may become seriously endangered and partly lost. " A rule generally observed in the villages where the dokhar flourishes, is, that no one may sell it, under a penalty of a fine of two pounds, to a stranger, or even to an ally, before the gardens of his own locality have been copiously provided with the precious preservative. " Previous to our rule the Kabyle tribes were continually at enmity with one another, and the sale of the dokhar was then suspended and forbidden between them. As the fig is the prin- cipal and indispensable food of the inhabitants, this prohibitory measure was the surest means of starving the enemy, or at least of occasioning him serious inconvenience. It is, therefore, pro- bable that the different tribes frequently came to open blows in Hosted by G00gle y purchase." Copper and iron are rather abundantly found in Kabylia, and ,s inhabitants are expert in extracting these metals from their 73. — KABYLE JEWELLERS. >res. However, they are beginning to import metal goods from Europe. With tools of their own manufacture, or with those of foreign mportation, the Kabyles make a great many useful and impor- tant articles. Jewellers and armourers axe Jg$£B9^|oiffld in bpir villages. i 172 THE WHITE RACE. shop of a Kabyle jeweller. The lathe of the Kabyle workman is used to make the wooden vases and the numerous utensils sold by the Kabyles all along the African coast. It is sufficiently noteworthy that the Kabyle turner only uses the vertical lathe, and seems ignorant of the horizontal one so convenient and so generally used in Europe. The Sheilas dwell to the west of the Atlas, while the Kabyles are found to the east of these mountains. The former are tillers of the soil, laborious and poor. They are generally independent. The Touariks are a people distinct from the two preceding ones. They are nomadic. They wander in the desert of Sahara, and make continual raids into Egypt to carry off slaves* M. Henri Duveyrier, who has published a detailed account of the Touariks of the. North, declares that they are hospitable and humane. They are generally considered to consist of rather formidable tribes, accustomed to scour the desert, stop caravans and plunder the laggards. At any rate, it is a known fact that an ill-starred traveller, Miss Tinne, who had courageously explored parts of Asia and Africa, was assassinated in the desert in 1869 by some Touariks. In French Africa the generic name of Moor is given to the Mussulman population (the Turks excepted) inhabiting Barbary and Sahara ; but in reality this name is only rightly applicable to two particular classes* The first of these is partly composed of the inhabitants of the towns, often supposed to be the descend- ants of the ancient natives of the country, that is to say of the Libyan family, but seeming on the contrary to be principally of Arab origin. The second comprises the tribes, most of them nomadic, who dwell in the south-west of Sahara, and who belong to either the Berber or the Arab race. The Egyptians. We now proceed to speak of the Egyptians, that unchanging race which seems to slumber on, embalmed on a conservative soil, a vast hypogeuni, where, for thirty centuries, generations, both of human beings and of domestic animals, have succeeded generations without any perceptible alteration. The work of Herodotus, the dialogues of Lucian, and the Hosted by G00gle ARAMEAN BRANCH. 173 writings of Ammianus Marcellinus, teach us that the ancient Egyptians, similar in all respects to those of our own day, had a brown coloured skin. Two contracts of sale, dating hack from the time of Ptolemy, give us particulars of the parties to it. The vendor is called neXayxpas (dark brown), and the buyer fiekixpcos (honey coloured). From all the documents and evidence we possess, it appears that several varieties in the colour of the skin existed among the ancient Eg}rptians, but that there was always one predominant hue. Paintings are found in the temples and the tombs, where the persons represented have a copper coloured, reddish, or light chocolate complexion. The faces of the women are sometimes of a yellower tint, merging into fawn colour. Another faithful representation of the features of the ancient Egyptians is found in those of their paintings and sculptures that have descended to our own time. Their physiognomy shows a peculiar and remarkable type, as does also the shape of their bodies. According to Denon (Travels in Egypt), the ancient inhabitants of the kingdom of the Pharaohs had full but refined and voluptuous figures, calm and serene faces, soft and rounded features, long almond shaped eyes, half closed, languishing, and raised at the outer corner, as if the glare and heat of the sun habitually fatigued them. Eound cheeks, thick and prominent lips, a large but smiling mouth, and a dark reddish copper tinted complexion, completed the peculiar expression of their counte- nance. Blumenbach, after examining a large number of mummies, and comparing them with the productions of ancient art, established three leading types of ancient Egyptians, including, with more or less deviation, all individual casts of face ; the Ethiopian, the Indian, and the Berber type. The first is distinguished by a prominent jaw and a thick lip, by a broad flat nose, and by protruding eyes. This type coincides with the description given by Herodotus and other Greek waiters, who assign to the Egyptian a black complexion and woolly hair. The second type is widely different. The nose is long and narrow, the eyelids are thin, long, and slanting obliquely from the top of the nose towards the temples ; the ears are set high in the head, the body is short and slight, and the legs are very long. This picture resembles the Hindoos from beyond the Ganges. Such were the ancient people of Egypt. Its inhabitants of Hosted by G00gle 174 THE WHITE RACE. to-day are difficult to class from an ethnographic point of view. They must not be confounded, as is often done, with the Arab race. The present Egyptians are the old indigenous or Berber race, modified by its fusion with new elements. This old indi- genous race is still to be met with in the country, sparsely strewn, but quite recognizable. It is this small part of the population which bears the name of Kopts. The Kopts, a race preserved by their religion from miscegena- tion, but feebly represent the primitive Egyptians; for ancient Egypt was conquered and subjugated, first by the Arabs, then by the Persians, then by the Greeks and Romans, and lastly by the Mussulmans. The Kopts (fig. 80) are generally above the middle height; they are robust in stature, and the colour of their skin is a dull red. They have a broad forehead, a rounded chin, full cheeks, a straight nose with strongly curved nostrils, large brown eyes, a narrow mouth with thick lips and white teeth, high projecting ears, and extremely black beards and eyebrows. The striking resemblance of the Kopts to ancient Egyptian sculpture is a sufficient proof that this group of mankind is really the remnant of the ancient stock of Egypt, slightly altered by mixture with the other races that have successively occupied their country. The Kopts became Christians in the second century. In the seventh century, at the time of the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, the Kopts numbered 600,000. To-day they only amount to 150,000, of whom 10,000 reside in Cairo. They venerate St. Mark as their principal patron. They go to communion regularly every Friday, lead a very austere life, and allow their priests ta marry. The Kopts have black eyes, and, in general, curly hair. Morose, taciturn, and dissimulating, they cringe to their superiors, hate their equals, and are arrogant to their inferiors. They excel as accountants in all kinds of business. They carry on exclusively certain industries, such as the manufacture of mills, of apparatus for irrigation, and of jewellery. The Koptic language is the ancient language of the Pharaohs, mixed with words from the Greek and other tongues. It is written in the Greek character. It is no longer grammatically taught, and is but little spoken. It is, however, still used in their form of worship. Hosted by G00gle 74. — KOPTS OF THE TEMPLE OF KRAXAH. Hosted by G00gle rrru^ xr x- i xi ^ i^-j j-j- _ • p..... ..A a 176 THE WHITE RACE. followers of Mahomet, they were employed by the Mamelukes to collect the taxes. Thieves and mendicant monks abound amongst them. Fig. 74 represents Koptic priests before the temple of Kranah. The most unfortunate portion of the Egyptian population, the peasants and the labourers, the same workmen who have been so useful in constructing the Suez Canal, are called Fellahs. From an ethnographic point of view, the Fellahs are descended from the primitive indigenous inhabitants, modified by admix- ture with the Arabs. Although they speak the Arab tongue, the coarseness of their features keeps them distinct from the Arabs. The soil of Egypt thus supports a singular admixture of races, and it is impossible now-a-days to point out one single pure type. This is a result of the miserable political state of the countr}r. From the very first, Egypt has always been the prey of alien conquerors, who have succeeded one another in one long roll, each in their turn adding some new feature to those of the original -inhabitants of the country. In " Travels in Egypt," by Messrs. Cammas and Lefevre, published in the " Tom1 du Monde," we read the following observations on the Fellahs : — " The Fellahs have but a feeble conception of the dignity of man and of their own value ; the only answer they give to blows is a complaint. Sometimes, indeed, they rebel like a flock of sheep, but with a conviction that their effort will be of no avail. It is thus, at the times of conscription, they resist the soldiery ; but after a few have been killed, the rest allow themselves to be huddled on board the man-of-war, in which they are taken down the Nile to Cairo, the women and the young girls following them for some miles along the banks with cries and lamentations. A Fellah's existence is not essentially more unhappy than that of our peasant hinds. His disposition is rather cheerful than melancholy ; and every circumcision, every marriage, is the excuse for a holiday, shared b}r the whole village. Their songs and their dances are redolent of the spontaneous mirth instinctive in negroes. But with everything to render life agreeable, the consciousness of rights and obligations, that something that con- stitutes the freeman and the citizen, is wanting in them. The Fellah is fond of his home and of his hamlet ; but Egypt is for him neither a nation nor a fatherland. It is astonishing at first sight to notice this degradation of the human species, so sad to Hosted by G00gle 75.— A FELLAH WOMAN AND CHILDREN. hold ; however, if the oppressive tyranny of th^Mwodokes, the kiic oiavcij ui Liic pun, ttie xciiieniucxcu, xt xo caoj tu uiiuciotai why the Fellah, ground down under the sway of the Pharaoh stupefied under that of the Romans, and crushed by Mussulmi fatalism, is slow to respond to the efforts and to the intellectu 76.-— A FELLAH DONKEY BOY. tendencies of the government of Said Pacha. Since the Art conquest, the soil has been legally the property of the sultan the emirs, and the beys. The feudal system that once the retically existed amongst us was rigoroirai^0^aried in WA/l^l/lA ■»•» T?, T'U^ „,"L~1^ ^-f 4-V*^ ^% TS\c*4-r\*i Inw 4-1 ARAMEAN BRANCH. 179 their absolute existence, into the granaries of the land-owners, Now-a-days the Viceroy has abandoned the practice of monopoly ; he is anxious to change arbitrary rights into regular taxes; he has yielded his just claims to the labourer, and assured to the peasant his right of succession to the fields he has watered with the sweat of his toil. But it takes a long interval to blot out the horrible stamp of their past slavery. " The sailors of the Nile, sons and relations of the Fellahs, re- semble them in their ignorance, in their humility, in their contempt for life, and in their natural disposition to laughter, to song, and to the dance. But their wits are becoming sharpened by per- petual contact with strangers ; and their minds are busy on many things undreamt of by the Fellah.,, The same travellers tell us, in speaking of Egyptian mar- riages : — " Marriage in Egypt is not a public act strictly registered by the law. When the bridegroom and the bride's parents have come to an understanding, when the sum to be paid by the husband has been agreed upon (the wife brings no dower), the celebration of the union takes place before two witnesses. Some- times the cadi is apprized ; but this is a formality that is often neglected. In such a union, without any ulterior guarantee, the wife is but a purchased slave. When the husband tires of her he sends her back; she can only claim a divorce on one single ground, for a reason considered by us also as a serious injury. No legal notice is taken of the birth of children, who are con- sequently placed in a precarious position until they are old enough to look after themselves. Their death is easily con- cealed ; and they occasionally perish by the hand of one of the other wives, rivals of their mother. A common custom allows the Nile sailors to have two wives, one at Girgeh, for instance, and another at Assouan. The husband passes a month with each of them in turns, as his business allows him. He brings with him a few piastres, a piece or two of blue cotton stuff, often some little seaman's venture, that the wife proceeds to dispose of on his departure. He receives in exchange the products of the place, that in turn go to swell the trade of the other wife. We had on board a cargo of earthenware, salt, and pipes* The sailors disembarked them here and there as they went up the river, expecting to find on their return stores of tobacco, dates, N 2 Hosted by GoOgle 180 THE WHITE KACE. and horse-trappings. Polygamy looked at in this light is pro- ductive ; but it loses ground notwithstanding every day, not amongst the poor only, but amongst the rich, who have in most cases but one legitimate wife at a time. Besides, there is but one real cause for polygamy — the premature old age of the women. When the men give up the practice of marrying mere children, who become rapidly worn out by the fatigues of preco- cious maternity, polygamy will cease to exist." Fig. 77 represents the dress of a Cairo lady. Almas, or Egyptian dancing-girls, are now-a-days scarcely more than a name in the country. It is difficult to find even one or two in Cairo. The last specimens are restricted to the town of Esneh. The travellers from whom we have taken the above details, visited the town of Esneh, and there saw the dancing- girls. They give the following sketch of them. "We. were conducted into a building of forbidding aspect. The dancing-girls were grouped together in the midst of the apartment. They were all plain enough in the face, but young and well made. The hope of large gains had induced them to take extra pains with their dress. I still see their low-necked vests, their wide silk pantaloons, fastened above the hips with dazzling waistbands ; their inner tunic of gauze or flesh-coloured muslin; some with naked feet, others with long red or yellow Turkish slippers. Most of them wore necklaces and bracelets, and small coins hanging over their foreheads ; whilst at the back of their heads hung a small silk handkerchief, carelessly thrown on. The dance began with a series of attitudes, beseeching and graceful, then rapidly grew animated, till it expressed a pitch of deep passion. Their bosoms remained immovable, while they moved the rest of their bodies as if in a frenzy. A distribution of olives, of liqueurs, and a shower of small coins, won us a thousand blessings, and brought our evening to a dignified close. The almas do not meet every day with such a windfall ; and if they dance during the winter, they do not sing in the summer. The population amidst which they live cannot afford to remu- nerate their talents. Well versed in poses plastiques, but in- capable of all work, they are reduced to all sorts of expedients, and to loans, which make them the slaves of the usurers. Their time is spent in smoking, in drinking aquavitse, and in consuming Hosted by G00gle 77. — A LADY OF CAIRO. Hosted by Google decrease the number of almas, who, in the time of the Mameluke 78. — ALMA OR DANCING-GIRL. Hosted by G00gle ARAMEAN BRANCH. 183 The Semitic Family. We have already said that the races who composed the Aramean branch kindled in Asia, at an early period in history, the torch of civilization. This observation is more particularly applicable to the nations of the Semitic family, of whom we are now going to speak. It is from this family, in fact, that sprang the nations so well known in ancient history, under the name of Assyrians, Hebrews, Phoenicians and Carthaginians. Conquered by other races, the Assyrians, the Hebrews, the Phoenicians, and the Carthaginians have successively disappeared and are now almost entirely replaced by the Arabs. We unite to the Semitic family the Arabs, the Jews, and the Syrians. The Arabs. — The Arabs constitute the principal population of modern Arabia ; they also form a great part of the inhabitants of Egypt, Nubia, Barbary, and Sahara. They extend into Persia, and even into Hindostan. Some of the Arabs are shepherds (Bedouins), others cultivate the soil ; the former are nomadic, the latter sedentary. The Bedouins, children of the desert, perpetual wanderers, active and very temperate, are smaller and of a more slender appear- ance than the others, and support with ease the fatigues and privations of their mode of life. The agricultural Arabs, or fehles, are taller and more robust. The former have a wild and suspicious cast of countenance. The characteristics of the Arab race are, a long face, with a high-shaped head ; an aquiline nose, nearly in a line with the forehead ; a retreating and small mouth; even teeth ; the eye not at all dee}) set, in spite of the want of prominence of the brow ; graceful figures, formed by the small volume of fatty matter and cellular tissue, and by the presence of powerful but not largely developed muscle ; a keen wit ; a lively intelligence ; and a deep and persevering mould of character. These characteristics show that they possess a remarkable superiority over other races, and Baron Larrey. has found fresh evidence of this superiority in the shape of their head, in the convolutions of their brain, in the consistency of their nervous tissue, in the appearance of their muscular fibre and their bony Hosted by G00gle 184 THE WHITE EACE. structure, and in the regularity and perfect development of their heart and arterial system. We see therefore that the Ai*ab type is really an admirable one. This type, consistent and well denned as a whole, has, however, undergone considerable modifications under the influence of divers causes. The colour of their skin varies a good .deal : their complexion is sometimes as white as that of Europeans of the most northern countries. In Yemen, Arab women have been noticed whose complexion was a deep yellow. In that portion of the valley of the Nile contiguous to Nubia, the Arabs are black. In this same valley of the Nile, above Dengola, the Shegya Arabs are jet black, a bright clear black, a colour which the English traveller Waddington thought the most beautiful that could be chosen for a human creature. " These men,'' says Waddington, " entirely differ from negroes in the brilliancy of their colour, in the quality of their hair, in the regularity of their features, in the gentle expression of their limpid eyes, and by the softness of their skin, which in this respect is not at all inferior to that of Europeans.' ' Amongst the Arabs who dwell in more temperate climates, hair more or less fair, and blue or grey eyes have been observed. As a contrast, in the Libyan desert, tribes have been met with whose hair was woolly and nearly analogous to that of negroes. Taken altogether, the nomadic Arabs, who have faithfully adhered for many centuries to the same mode of life, exhibit, in spite of varying climates, the original mould of an exceptional beauty. Fig. 79 shows a tent of nomadic Arabs. The Jews. — Among the lesser nations with an affinity to the Semitic family, there is one remarkable by its historical im- portance, and by the manner in which it has managed to preserve its original type during the eighteen centuries in which it has been scattered all over the whole world : we mean the Jews or Israelites.* The Jews have preserved much of their own peculiar physio- * French politeness has made between these two words a distinction which is too odd to allow us to pass it over. In France, a rich Jew is called an Israelite, a poor Israelite is called a Jew. The Messrs. Rothschild are Israelitish bankers ; but if by some im- possibility they lost their millions and went to live at Frankfort, in the Jew's quarter, in the old family house, which is still there, and which we have seen, they would become, like their ancestors, Jewish traders. Hosted by G00gle 0 1 ,..- Vtjf* 1 I UR they are dispersed, by peculiar features easily recognized ii many paintings of the great masters* Still they have ended ty adopting more or less th< characteristics of the nation; with whom they have lon< resided. Under the sole in fluence of external circum stances and mode of life, th< medley of races amongs which they have existed hai little by little altered thei: national type. In the north ern parts of Europe the Jew! have a white skin, blue eyes and fair hair. In some por tions of Germany many are t( be seen with red beards ; ii Portugal they are tawny coloured. In those districts of India wThere they hav< been long settled, in Cochii for instance, on the Malaba: coast, they are black, and resemble the natives so exactly ii complexion that it is often difficult to distinguish them from th< Hindoos. Fig. 80 represents a Jew of Bucharest. Syrians. — The ancient Syrians have, as a rule, become absorbec in the races who have conquered them ; their language, however is still spoken by the Christian population of Mesopotamia anc Chaldea, the Sourianis and the Yakoubis or Chaldeans. Beyrout, at the foot of the mountains of Libanus (fig. 81), is \ town and port which is the commercial centre of all Syria. Thithe Libanus sends its wine and its silks ; Yemen, its coffee ; Haman its corn; Djebail and Lattakiah, their pale-coloured tobaccos Palmyra, its horses ; Damascus, its arms ; Bagdad, its costh stuffs ,* and all Europe, the countless prod^^^(&©feb|eindustry. The verv first elance at Bevrout shows how commerce prosper* 80.— JEW OF BUCHAKEST. S* «r m i hti $ ErJ ^-ifffl ( 1 .-i^4" ^jij^ 11 y i j - 1^ ljj^^_^ 'jt^s 188 THE WHITE RACE. the Druze in his white or parti-coloured turban, armed with the most costly weapons, the Arab displaying his picturesque rags, the Turk, the Greek, the Jew, and the Armenian, all hurry to and fro, jostling one another in the crowd. It is a regular Babel of language and costume : in which, however, the Christian element predominates. But the streets of Beyrout, like all those of Eastern towns, are not in unison with such a brilliant panorama. The houses are massive shells of stone ; the streets are narrow and steep, communicating sometimes by tunnelled passages; some of the broader ones are occupied by cafedjis, inside which squat- ting Arabs tranquilly smoke their chibouks, sheltered from the rays of the sun by awnings of coarse rush-matting hung above their heads. In the middle of the street the children roll about in the dust. The Maronites and the Druzes are two lesser nations of Libanus, speaking, however, like most modern Syrians, the Arabic tongue. The Maronites are an influential but ignorant people. They derive their origin from a Christian monk of the name of Maroun, who lived towards the close of the sixth century, and died in the odour of sanctity. A convent was founded to honour his memory. ^^^^ A century later, one of his disciples, John the Maronite, espoused ^"C I the quarrel of the Latin Christians against those of Greek descent, ^ at that time making much headway in Libanus. The latter drew their inspiration from Constantinople ; the Maronites, on the contrary, imbibed theirs from Rome. A religious pretext was made use of to hide political differences. John the Maronite armed his mountaineers, led them against the enemy, and seized the whole of Libanus right up to the walls of Jerusalem. Keeping within their mountains, although comparatively few in number, the Maronites preserved for a long time their independence. It was not until 1588 that they were conquered by Ibrahim, Pacha of Cairo, and forced to pay a yearly tribute, which they still continue to do. In spite of this the Maronites, like all mountaineers, have kept their desire for independence. Persecuted by their masters, the Mussulmans; and by the Druzes, rivals raised up against them by the English, jealous, according to the French, of the latter's Hosted by G00gle '- * •' % III f ft J r.:ry . j wy n m L ^^.'-'i, 111 ffff ■flri ill i HI^'fllH IIHl II ! i *§a 190 THE WHITE RACE. influence in Libanus ; on bad terms with the Ansarieh or Mutualis ; they still manage, the spade in one hand and the sword in the other, to cultivate and defend the inheritance of their fathers. Ignorant as they are, the Maronites are the only educated race in the country. The magnificent convents which exist in the districts of th.e Maronites, are full of ancient manuscripts and modern Arab writings. Fig. 82 represents a Maronite convent in Libanus* The Druzes are schismatic Mussulmans, as the Maronites are sectarian Christians. They are inclined to cultivate the soil, but are naturally warlike. Every Druze is a ready-made soldier, hos- pitable, if you will, but quite as capable of fighting, when the opportunity offers, as the best guerilleros in Europe. The Persian Family. The white races who come from the south-east of the Caucasus are generally classed in the European branch, because the languages of both are somewhat similar, and have both some affinity with Sanscrit. But these races have a much greater resemblance to the Arameans than to the Europeans. Like the Arameans, the nations of the Persian family early acquired a certain degree of civilization, to which, they have since added. The races belonging to the Persian family have a white skin, black eyes and hair, and are of middle height. They inhabit not only Persia, but Armenia, Turkistan, and some portions of Hindostan. Five well-defined divisions can be made in the races that con- stitute this family : 1st, the Persians, properly so called, or the Tadjiks; 2nd, the Afghans; 3rd, the Kurds; 4th, the Armenians; -5th, the small tribe of the Ossetines. The Persians. — A. great part of Persia is still occupied by tribes who wander about the country, living in tents, and forcing their slaves and servants to till the soil. But many of these tribes are aliens to the Persian race. The pure race of Persians only inhabits towns and their immediate neighbourhood. These Tadjiks or thoroughbred Persians were formerly much more numerous than they are now. The north-east of the kingdom of Iran is the land of their ancestors. All ancient writers have spoken of the ^ Hosted by G00gle ARAMEAN BRANCH. 191 primitive Persians (Medes and Persians) as a singularly fine and well made race. Ammianus Marcellinus speaks of Persia as a country renowned for the beauty of its women (ubi feminarum pulchritudo excellit), and all the old authors describe the Persians as men of a tall stature and a handsome countenance. The figures we find in the numerous ancient sculptures on Persian monuments, at Istakhar, at Persepolis, at Ekbatana, and in many other places, confirm in every respect this evidence. In the basso-relievos from Nineveh in the Palace of the Louvre, in Paris, the refined features and the good looks which dis- tinguished the men of that ancient city are at once recognizable. The type is a noble and dignified one, and shows traces of much reflection and intelligence. The Tadjiks, or modern Persians, are likewise extremely handsome. They possess a great regularity of feature, an oval countenance, luxuriant hair, large and well defined black eye- brows, and that soft dark eye held in such high estimation by Easterns. The Tadjiks are cheerful, witty, active, frivolous, idle, and vicious ; fond of luxury, dress, and display. They possess a literature, and their language, remarkable for its flowery and ornamental diction, is spoken not only in Persia, but by the upper elapses in a large portion of Hindostan. Persia (the kingdom of Iran) is governed by a king (shah) who exercises almost absolute authority and who resides at Teheran. The heir to the throne is the eldest son of the king's eldest son, according to an ancient Kussian custom. The twelve provinces of which the kingdom is composed are administered by a governor (beglebeig), who delegates his authority to a lieutenant (kakim). The towns are ruled over by a special governor, by a police inspector, and by a first magis- trate. Every village elects a ruler (ketlkhoda). The legislation of Persia, differing in little from that of Turkey, is based on the Koran, The kingdom of Persia can send into the field 150,000 soldiers ; * but its permanent army does not exceed 10,000 men, among whom exist as a special corps, the shah's guards (gholaums). Persia has a small merchant navy. Manufactures do not seem to succeed in Persia. This country, formerly the centre of a large commerce, now imports Hosted by G00gle_ 83. — HATW-MRT?ZA-AfiHAZZT AKAMEAN BRANCH. 193 almost everything, and only manufactures articles of primary necessity. India, Russia, and Afghanistan supply the Persians with most of their manufactured*goods. Persia, having been often invaded and occupied by foreigners, has necessarily a very mixed population. This consist of four classes : 1. The nobility, who fill all public posts. 2. The citizens of the towns, comprising the clergy, and the scholastic profession, who are a mixture of Persians, Turks, Tartars, Georgians, Armenians, and Arabs. 3. The peasants, belonging to the old Persian stock. 4. The nomadic or pastoral tribes, composed of Persians, to whom must be added the remnant of the ancient conquering classes of this country. It is from this last class that spring the soldiers and all the military clique who constitute in Persia a real hereditary autocracy. The religion of the ancient Persians was that of Zoroath, that is to say, necromancy. In the third and fourth centuries of the Christian era, Christianity made many converts in this land, although at that time it was occupied by the Arabs. But from the commencement of the fifth century the kings of Persia devoted their energies to crushing it out of their country, and Maho- metanism is now the predominant religion. A new sect, the sosists, taking rise in a province in Persia (Kerman), has made many converts throughout the kingdom. The votaries of this new creed are deists, who only accept the Koran as a book of moral precepts, and who repudiate the religious dogma that Mahomet drew from it. Fig. 84 represents several Persian types ; fig. 85 gives an idea of the costly dress of the Persian nobility. The author of a "Journey in Persia," Count de Gobineau, has well described the internal life of the Persians. "We will make a few extracts from his interesting book. Let us read, for instance, the chapter in which is described A dinner in Ispahan. " The table," M. de Gobineau tells us, " laid for twenty guests, was almost lost in the immense size of the place. The front of the theatre was open, supported by ten lofty columns painted in light colours ; the large curtain in use, white, with black designs embroidered on it, was stretched like an awning over the nearest Hosted by G00gle part oi tne gardens, xue guests uvaiuuAcu n, uu^c ±\ju>x±ua.±±i running water and vast beds of plane trees. Numerous servf in motley dresses, and armed each according to his own fa (some of them carried a complete arsenal), stood in groups at end of the terrace, or handed round the dishes, helping the gue 84.— PERSIAN TYPES. The table had been laid out with the help of the Euroi servants, a little in the European manner, and a good deal ace ing to Persian customs. Its centre was occupied by a pei forest of vases and cups, made of wood, m ^fyfehft^^tote, or ye -«J «,!«„« n*A £11^,1 ^r,^*U -fl^™^«o Tlw \/%vtaT4'tt r\f +V10 +■ sir moutlis without pricking themselves, it was the signal for a 85.— PERSIAN NOBLEMEN. irst of compliments. Their appetites wer©os8dt|@bog4tentric. rift of thftm filled his ulatft with mustard, and declared he had 196 THE WHITE EACE. than the results, we begged them to help themselves in their own way. After much hesitation, they consented to hold on to the fork with the left hand while they picked up their food with the right. " In the midst of the meal we heard a jingle of silvery bells, and saw four young boys, dressed as women, in pink and blue dresses spangled with tinsel, enter. They were dancers. They wore little gilt caps, from beneath which their long hair fell over their shoulders. The musicians were seated on the ground: one played on a kind of mandolin, another on a hand drum, and a third performed on an instrument with a quantity of strings stretched across a table, from which he drew, with some little sticks, sounds similar to those of the harp." M. de Gobineau tells us that Ispahan contains many men learned in various branches, rich and prosperous merchants, and men of property who live on their incomes. The town may be compared in size and tranquillity to Versailles. Another chapter of M. de Gobineau's book is worth reading, that headed " Betrothal, Divorce, and a Persian Lady's Day." The betrothed are usually very young. The youth is from fifteen to sixteen years of age, and the girl from ten to eleven. It is unusual to find a woman of three- and-twenty who has not had at least a couple of husbands, and often many more, so easily are divorces obtained. The women are kept strictly secluded in one of the inner apartments or enderoun, that is to say, no outsider, no stranger to the family, is allowed to enter it. But they are quite at liberty to go out from morning till night, and often indeed from night to morning. In the first place they go to bathe « They go to the bath with an attendant who carries a box full of toilet necessaries and the requisite articles of dress, and it is at least four or five hours before they return from it. After that they pay visits which they make to one another, and which occupy a similar interval. Their last method of killing time is the pilgrimage they make to the graves of their kindred, which are at no great distance in the midst of pretty scenery. All Persian women are so carefully veiled, and dressed so similarly, as to their out-door garments, that it is impossible for the most practised eye to distinguish one from the other. Besides paying visits, the excursion to the bath, the shopping in the bazaar, and their pilgrimages, the women go out of doors Hosted by G00gle ly Persian women are rather in the habit of looking upon iselves as inferior irresponsible beings. Absolute mistresses ome, they are extremely passionate and violent, and their 86. — PEKSIAN WOMEN. t slipper, furnished with a sharp iron point half an inch long, sn leaves very disagreeable marks on their husbands' faces. Che Persian in his turn spends half his time in the bazaar, and remainder in paying and receiving visits. Tl#(k)>e they A 11,0.11 * Ul 11 ID OCI V embroidered saddle-cloth across his shoulders, at his horse's hea and behind him the kalyaudjy (musician) with his instrumei When he reaches the door he wishes to stop at, he dismount 87.— LOUTY AND BAKTYAX. He then, with his servants in front of him, traverses one or ta passages, invariably low and dark, and sometimes one or tv courts, before reaching the apartments of -tl^mS^Sw^ the hous TV !.:« • ARAMEAN BRANCH. 199 one of his young relations to do so. The opening courtesies are extremely flowery, such as " How came your lordship to conceive the compassionate idea of visiting this lowly roof ? " &c. When they reach the drawing-room, they find all the men of the family standing in a row against the wall bowing to the new- comer. As soon as every one is seated, the visitor inquires of the master of the house, " If, by the will of God, his nose is fat." The latter replies : " Glory be to God ! it is so, by means of your goodness." This same question is sometimes repeated three or four times running. After a few moments of conversa- tion, tea, coffee, and sherbet are handed round. The great charm of this rather frivolous gossip is its exaggeration, and the witty and amusing turn given to it. The Persians have a peculiar taste for calligraphy. Painting is an almost unknown art amongst them. They possess, however, a certain amount of artistic instinct, as is shown by the richness and elegance of some of their monuments. Fig. 87 shows the reader other types of Persian costume worn by different classes. The Louty and the Baktyan represented in this sketch are members of a nomadic tribe, enjoying rather a bad reputation. The Afghans inhabit the mountainous region lying to the north of the lowlands of the Punjaub, that is to say, the basin of the Indus. Their climate is a charming one. The Afghans are fine muscular men with a long face, high cheek-bones and a prominent nose. Their hair is generally black. Their skin, according to the part of the country they inhabit, is dark, tawny, or white. They are an unpolished, warlike race, differing in customs and in language both from the Persians and the natives of India. They are subdivided into many tribes or clans. The Beloochees, addicted to pastoral life, and primitive in their habits, move about from place to place, dwelling in tents which are constructed of felt on a slight framework of willow. They wander, with their flocks, about the table lands surrounding Kelat. They are to be found in nearly the whole of that part of eastern Persia, which, lying between Afghanistan to the north and the Indian Ocean to the south, stretches westwards from the Indus to the great Salt Desert. They speak a dialect derived from the Persian. Hosted by G00gle H ■ ^^ Airstarttirtrinl TIP HYPERBOREAN BRANCH. 211 The language spoken by the Ainos, is strikingly like that spoken by the Samoiedes and by some of the inhabitants of the Caucasus. Their bodies are well formed and their disposition is gentle and hospitable. They live by hunting and fishing. The Esquimaux Family. Greenland and most of the islands adjacent to this portion of the American continent are inhabited by a people that have received the common name of Esquimaux and who constitute a very numerous family. The principal and the most numerous tribes of the Esquimaux family belong to the American continent. . But as they are quite distinct from the other inhabitants of this continent, and as they have a much greater resemblance to the people of Northern Asia, and to the Mongols, it is here that we mention them. The head of the Esquimaux has a more pyramidal shape than that of the Mongols of Upper Asia. This is owing to the narrowing of the skull. Such an outward sign of degradation reveals at once the moral and social inferiority of these poor people. Their eyes are black, small and wild, but show no vivacity. Their nose is very flat, and they have a small mouth, with the lower lip much thicker than the upper one. Some have been seen with plenty of hair on their face. Their hair is usually black, but occasionally fair, and always long, coarse, and unkempt. Their complexion is clear. They are thick-set, have a decided tendency to obesity, and are seldom more than five feet in height. During a journey undertaken by Dr. Kane of New York to the 82nd degree of northern latitude, this bold explorer spent more than a year amongst the Esquimaux who live at Etah, the nearest human abode to the North Pole. Men, women, and children, covered only by their filth, laid in heaps in a hut, huddled together in a kind of basket. A lamp, with a flame sixteen inches long produced by burning seal oil, warmed and lighted the place. Bits of seal's flesh, from whence issued a most horrible ammo- niacal odour, lay upon the floor of this den. Fig. 93 represents the summer encampment of a tribe of Esquimaux, and fig. 94 a winter one. Fig. 95 represents a . village, that is to say, a collection of huts made of blocks of snow p 2 Hosted by G00gle of Nature. The seals from the hay of Reusselaer provide the Esquim with food during the greater part of the year. More to the soi as far as Murchison's channel, the whale penetrates in due seas The winter famine begins to cease when the sun reappei 93.— ESQUIMAUX SUMMER ENCAMPMENT, January and February are the months of hardship ; during latter part of March the spring fisheries recommence, and i them movement and life begin anew. The poor wretched c covered with snow are then the scenes of great activity, masses of accumulated provisions are then brefiglgwit and p »,« ~~* xl* - £ i/U, .1 x *-» i»#-. 4 I * /-\ .-•l.-n + /^ tier, ine JLsquimaux are not lazy, ihey hunt with a good 1 of pluck, and are often forced to hide their game in excava- is that the wild beasts may not get at it. Their consump- 1 of food is very great. They are large eaters, not from ediness, but of necessity, on account of the extreme cold of se high latitudes. 94.— ESQUIMAUX WINTER ENCAMPMENT. "ig. 96 represents, according to Doctor Kane, the chief of an [uimaux tribe. >octor Hayes, in his "Journey to the Open Sea of the North 3," published in 1866, has described the Esquimaux type, road face, heavy jaws, prominent cheek bonef,db& Ss^&lf fore- and on the chin; small in stature but stoutly built, ana a roo constitution of a vigorous kind; such are the distinguish characteristics of the people of the far north. The Esquimaux style of dress seemed, to the learned travel] pretty much the same for both sexes ; a pair of boots, stockin mittens, trousers, a waistqoat, and an overcoat. The father- law of one of his travelling companions wore boots of bears! 95. — ESQUIMAUX VILLAGE. coming up to the knee, whilst those of his wife reached mi higher, and were made of seal leather. Their trousers w n:ide of sealskin, their stockings of dogskin, their mittens sealskin, and their waistcoat of kidskin with the fur inside. The overcoat, made of the skin of the blue fox, does not oj in front, but is put on like a shirt. It ends in a hood cover the head like the cowl of a monk. The women cut their coal a point, in order to confine their hair, which they gather toget on the top of the head, and tie up in a kMffafe close and as h 96.— ESQUIMAUX CHIEF. Hosted by G00gle a providential animal to the wild inhabitants of the seas in the north of Europe* The eggs of the seabirds, particularly of the penguin, are 97.— ESQUIMAUX BIRD-CATCHER. second sourc6 of food to these people. The Esquimaux run a sorts of risks to gather the eggs of these bkddj^aot^fee steep an Ciddv cliffs where their nests are found ffier Q7\_ ate to past events. They have no annals of any kind or sort, nd do not even know their own age. Tebosian Family. A people more generally known under the name of Ostiaks of ^emisia. They speak a very different language from that of the )stiaks of the Obi whom we have already mentioned as belong- ag to the White Eace. JUKAGHIRITE AND KoRIAK FAMILIES. These are wandering people, becoming more and more absorbed n the Kussian population. They live on the shores of Behring's Jtraits, or in the interior, and much resemble the Samoiedes in heir customs and in their language. 98. — YOUXG ESQUIMAUX. Hosted by GoOgle CHAPTER II. MONGOLIAN BRANCH. The peoples belonging to this ethnologic branch exhibit the characteristics of the Yellow Race in the most prominent manner. They are fond of a nomadic life, and have at different periods made wide conquests ; but they have, as a rule, become absorbed in the races they have overcome. The Mongols are still, how- ever, the rulers of the Chinese Empire. They belong either to the Buddhist or to the Mahometan faith. This branch is divided into three great families, analogous with the differences in their language : the Mongols, the Tungtises, and the Turks. We may add to them a fourth family, the Yakuts, foF these latter possess the physical characteristics of the Yellow Race, and speak a Turkish dialect. The Mongol Family. The most decided features of the Yellow Race are particularly prominent in the Mongol family. Its members have a larger head, a flatter face and nose, and smaller eyes than those of the other families. They have a broad chest, a very short neck, round shoulders, strong thick-set limbs, short bow-legs, and a brownish-yellow complexion. The most nomadic of the Mongol family live under the rule of the Russian and the Chinese Empires. Fig. 99 represents a Mongol Tartar. Three principal nations are to be found in this family : the Kalmuks, the Mongols proper, and the Buriats. Kalmuks. — M. Vereschaguine, in his " Journey in the Caucasian Provinces/ ' has described the nomadic Kalmuks whom he met Hosted by G00gle Willi Vll VHK> UUUUl^I 0^/c*j.miv* the Cossacks of the Don. Travelling villages are found on these dreary and monotonous steppes. The habitations of which these villages are composed consist of tattered tents. These contain, mixed up in an incredible confusion, boxes, cases, 99.— A MONGOL TARTAR. lassoes, saddles, and heaps of rags. A hearth is the only sig of a fireplace. During the heat of summer, the children of bot sexes, up to the age of ten, run about almost entirely naked. I winter, in the midst of their terrible snowstorms, and when th thermometer is below zero, they remain for days togethe huddled up in their tents beneath heaps of tife^O^|teg- a v«i»«™Vo Avo** ™nsiKts nf ft shirt, of a bechmet, of a wicl 220 THE YELLOW BACK with a broad border of sheepskin fur, generally ornamented with an immense knob on the top. The more wealthy wear into the bargain an ample and lengthy dressing-gown. The women do not, like the men, wear a belt round their shirt ; their hair falls from beneath their cap in several plaits tied up with ribbons of different colours. Cunning, trickery, fraud, and theft, are the staple occupations of these nomadic tribes. The mother supports her child without the father troubling himself about it, and it grows up in a state of neglect. The food of the Kalmuks is extremely primitive. Boiled flour, diluted with water and cooked up with pieces of horseflesh, forms the staple of their culinary art. They are fond of tea, and drink a great deal of it, but they season it so highly as to entirely lose its flavour. They are downright drunkards into the bargain, and in this respect the women and the children are not a whit behind the men. They sometimes spend whole days in gambling with greasy and ill-assorted cards. The Kalmuks are capital horsemen. They also breed and break-in camels, which they sell in the Tiflis market. Mongols proper. — The Mongols .proper, or the Eastern Mon- gols, wander in the steppes of Mongolia. They are divided into numerous tribes, of which the most important have received the name of Khalkas. Mongolia may be divided into two parts, as distinct by their political proclivities as by the nature and produce of their soil. The southern part, an arid district, is only inhabited in the vicinity of the Chinese frontier, where numerous tribes of Mongol origin, direct tributaries of the Chinese Empire, are to be found. The northern division, entirely populated by Khalkas tribes, is fertile. The Khalkas are subdivided into two castes : the Buddhist priests, and the black men who allow their hair to grow. The latter possess an aristocracy, leading like the rest a pastoral life, from whom are selected the chiefs of the tribes, chosen by election. The Khalkas could bring into the field at least fifty thousand horsemen ; but they are wretchedly armed with worth- less Chinese double-edged sabres. These are notched or spiral- shaped. Their other weapons are short spears, arrows, match- Hosted by Google MONGOLIAN BRANCH. 221 locks with queer-shaped breeches, shields stuffed with sheets of leather, and coats of wire mail. The life of a wandering Khalkasian is very uneventful. He begins his day by going round his flocks, and mounted on a horse which is never unsaddled, and which has spent the night fastened to a stake at the door of his tent, he gallops after the animals that have strayed away ; then he bends his steps to a neighbouring camp to gossip with the herdsmen it contains. Returning home, he squats in his tent for the remainder of the day, and kills time by sleeping, drinking tea diluted with milk or butter, or by smoking his pipe ; while his wives draw water, milk the cows, collect fuel, make cheese, or prepare wool and the skins of various animals for clothes and shoes. The Khalkas, hospitable and sober, possess the primitive virtues of the Yellow Eace ; but they are unacquainted with either commerce or manufactures. The only things they produce are felt stuffs, a little embroidery, and some poorly tanned skin and leather. They dispose of their raw produce to Russian and Chinese traders, who cheat them as much as they can. The payments are made in blocks of tea, five blocks being an equivalent to one ounce of Chinese silver. This tea is com- posed of the coarsest kind of leaf and of the small twigs of the herb. The dull and contemplative existence of the Khalkasian has few events to interrupt it. It is broken only by a pilgrimage, by a funeral followed by long festivities, by the arrival of a few travellers, or by a marriage. This last is, as among the ancient patriarchs, only a species of barter in which the girl is sold by •her father to the highest bidder, and is an excuse for a week's rejoicing, in which all concerned revel in orgies of meat, tobacco, and rice brandy. The Bufiats. — Miss Lisa Christiani, in the course of her travels in eastern Siberia, received the chiefs of some Buriat tribes who had made known their desire to pay her their respects- She met on the following day, on the banks of the Selinga, an escort, sent by the Buriats in her honour, composed of three hundred horsemen, dressed in splendid satin robes of various colours, and wearing pointed caps trimmed with fur ; they carried bows and arrows in their shoulder-belts, and bestrode richly Hosted by G00gle ■'' ■■■■ ■ * ' I Ml V\ Wm MONGOLIAN BRANCH. 223 caparisoned horses (fig. 100). It was in this manner the traveller made her first acquaintance with this tribe. At the time Miss Christiani fell in with them, the Buriats were celebrating the obsequies of one of their principal chiefs. The travellers were present at the funeral service and ceremonies, which were performed in a Mongol temple, and afterwards at the games which took place according to their ancient custom. These games included archery, wrestling, and horse and foot races. A banquet followed, at which roast mutton, cheese, cakes, and even some capital Champagne were served to the guests. The Buriats number about thirty-five thousand men, dwelling in the mountains to the north of Baikal. Their herds and flocks constitute their wealth. Their religion is Shamanism, a species of idolatry very prevalent amongst the inhabitants of Siberia. Their supreme God inhabits the sun; he has under his command a host of inferior deities. Amongst these barbarous people woman is considered an unclean and soulless being. The Tungusian Family. The Tungusian family consists of two divisions : the Tunguses to the north, and the Manchiis to the south-east. . The Tunguses. — The Tunguses, who are scattered in Siberia from the Sea of Okhotsk to Ienissia and to the Arctic Ocean, are nomadic, and live on the produce of their hunting and fishing. Daouria to the north of China is their native country. Those who live under the Eussian government are classified, according to the domestic animals constituting their principal resources, as dog Tunguses, horse Tunguses, and reindeer Tunguses. The nomadic Tunguses of Daouria were described at the close of the last century by the Russian naturalist Pallas, the same who found on the shores of the Lena the antediluvian mammoth, still covered with its skin and coat of hair, the discovery of which caused so much excitement in Europe. Manchus. — Fig. 101 represents the type of this race. We do not think it necessary to speak of them. The Yakut Family. The countenance of the Yakuts is still flatter and broader than Hosted by G00gle •"VUkJ iiCltUl Cll round their head, while but little grows on their faces : they ke€ one tress veiy long, to which they tie their bow to keep it cL 101. — MANCHUS SOLDIERS. when they are obliged, in the course of their wanderings or whils cut hunting, to swim across deep rivers. We will take a few details about the country of the Yakuts an its inhabitants from the interesting travels^ b(X3^a»gwever, content themselves with boats made of planks or wooden id bark canoes, only capable of holding two or three persons. be reindeer is the principal means of conveyance used by the ikuts. The severity of the cold is very great in this country — greater, 102.— YAKUTS. rhaps, than in any other part of Siberia. Its population is not ore than two hundred thousand. The Yakuts (figs. 102 and 103) e stoutly made, though only of middle height. Their counten- tce is rather flat, and their nose is of a corresponding width. [ley have either brown or black eyes. Their hair is black, ick, and glossy. They never have any on their faces. Their mplexion is between white and black, and changes three or iir times a year; in the spring, from the aotiaiiy^)t^Iatmos- kvta • in fVio cmmmor fv*t\m fTiof f\f +.hn crm • anfl in wirifor firim 226 THE YELLOW RACE. would make bad soldiers, as their peaceful disposition forbids them from ever fighting ; but they are active, lively, intelligent, and affable. In their encampments their provisions are at the service of every traveller who seeks their hospitality. Let his stay last a week, or even a month, there is always more than enough for both himself and his horse. They are fond of wine and tobacco, but they endure hunger and thirst with remarkable patience. A Yakut thinks nothing of working for three or four days without either eating or drinking. But let us quote Ouvarouski, the author of the description of the customs of the Yakuts. "The land of the Yakuts," says this traveller, "is so extensive that the temperature varies very much. At Olekminsk for instance, wheat thrives capitally, because there the white frost comes late; at Djigansk on the contrary, the earth always remains frozen two spans below the surface, and the snow begins to fall in the month of August. " The Yakuts are all baptised in the Eussian faith, two or three hundred of them perhaps excepted. They obey the ordin- ances of the church and go annually to confession, but few receive the sacrament, because they are not in the habit of fasting. They neither go out in the morning nor retire to rest at night without saying their devotions. When chance has befriended them, they thank the Lord ; when misfortune overtakes them, theyregard it as a punishment inflicted by the Almighty for their sins, and, with- out losing heart, patiently await better times. In spite of these praiseworthy sentiments they still preserve some superstitious beliefs, particularly the custom of prostrating themselves before the devil. When long sicknesses and murrains prevail, they cause their shamans to practise exorcisms and sacrifice cattle of a particular colour. " The Yakuts are very intelligent. It is sufficient to hold an hour or two's conversation with one of them to understand his feelings, his disposition, and his mind. They easily comprehend the ' meaning of elevated language, and guess from the very beginning what is about to follow. Few even of the most artful Russians are able to deceive a Yakut of the woods. " They honour their old men, follow their advice, and consider it wrong and unjust to offend and irritate them. When a father has several children, he gets them married one after the other, Hosted by G00gle s cattle and his property. Even when separated from their 103.— A YAKUT WOMAN. rpnfe f.lipir nliil/lvan r\a\roT rlicnh^v flipm. Hosted by G00gle Whan r father has 228 THE YELLOW RACE. if he loses his wife and marries a second who brings him other children. " The wealth of a Yakut is estimated in proportion to the number of cattle he possesses ; the improvement of his herds is his first thought, his principal wish ; he never thinks of putting by money till he has succeeded in this object. "Anger is acclimatized among all nations; the Yakut is no stranger to it, but he easily forgets the grudge he may owe to any one, provided the latter acknowledges his wrong and confesses himself to blame. " The Yakuts have other failings, which must not be attributed to an innate bad disposition. Some of them live on stolen cattle, but these are only the needy ; when they have taken enough to feed them two or three times from the carcase of the stolen beast, they abandon the rest ; this shows that their only motive is hunger, from which they have suffered perhaps for months and years. Besides when the thief is caught, their princes (kinaes, from the Eussian kniaz) have him whipped with rods, according to ancient custom, before everybody. The man who has undergone this punishment carries its degradation with him to the day of his death. His evidence can never be again listened to, and his words are of no weight in the assemblies where the people meet to deliberate. He can be chosen neither as prince nor as starsyna (from the Eussian starehina, ancient). These customs prove that theft has not become a profession among the Yakuts, The thief is not only punished, but never regains the name of an honest man. " Let a Yakut once determine to master some handicraft, and he is sure to succeed. He is at one and the same time a jeweller, a tinker, a farrier, and a carpenter ; he knows how to take a gun to pieces, how to carve bone, and, with a little practice, he can imitate any work of art he has once examined. It is a pity that they have no instruction to teach them the higher arts, for they are quite capable of executing extraordinary tasks. " They are wonderful shots. Neither cold nor rain, neither hunger nor fatigue, can stop them in the pursuit of a bird or an animal. They will follow a fox or a hare for two entire days without minding their own fatigue, or the exhaustion of their horse. " They have a good deal of taste and inclination for trade, and Hosted by G00gle MONGOLIAN BRANCH. 229 are so well up in driving a hard bargain for the smallest fox or sable skin, that they always get a high price for it. " The gun-stocks that they manufacture, the combs they cut and ornament, are works of great finish. I may also remark that their oxhide leather bottles never get foul, even if they are left for ten years full of liquid. " Many of the Yakut women have pretty faces ; they are cleaner than the men, and like the rest of their sex are fond of dress and fine things. Nature has not left them without charms. They cannot be called bad, immoral, or light women. They pay the same honour to their father and mother, and to the aged parents of their husband, as they do to the Deity. Their head and their feet they never allow to be seen stripped. They never pass the right side of the hearth, and never call their husbands' relations by their Yakut names. The woman who is unlike this description is looked upon as a wild beast, and her husband is considered extremely unlucky.' ' Fig. 104 represents a Yakut village and villagers. The Yakuts profess Shamanism, an idolatrous religion practised by the Finns, by the Samoiedes, by the Ostiaks, by the Buiiats, by the Teleouts, by the Tunguses, and by the inhabitants of the Pacific islands. Shamanists worship a supreme being, the creator of the world, but indifferent to human actions. Under him are male and female gods : some good, who superintend the government of the world, and the destinies of humanity ; the others evil, the greatest of whom (Chaitan, Satan) is considered to be nearly as powerful as the supreme Being. Religious venera- tion is also paid to their ancestors, to heroes, and to their priests, called Shamans ; these latter in their ceremonies practise a great deal of sorcery. Fig. 105 represents some of these Shamans. The Turkish Family. The people belonging to the Turk or Tartar family suc- ceeded in founding, in very ancient times, a vast empire which included a part of central Asia from China up to the Caspian Sea. But the Turks, attacked and conquered by the Mongols, were subdued and driven back towards the south-west, that is to say to the south of Europe. There they became in their turn Hosted by G00gle vv/u\|UUAUlOj a J ill W VCX^UllICj t'ULlJL lrt>lll&£ It UilOOCj it IJUICIUJI Southern Europe. 101— YAKUT VILLAGERS Hosted by G00gle rni^ - m t__ t i »^»«« I / l/V^M.* »*■ 'I'l >rth-east of the Caucasus who possess the characteristics of the \T s\v\ rrr\ 1 c? 105.— YAKUT PRIESTS. Hosted by G00gle ^ Time* xvhrx orp «Pf tlpfl to the south-west exhibit the 232 THE YELLOW RACE. The fusion of the former with the Mongols, of the second with the Persians and the Arameans, explain these modifications. The Turks, more than all nations, manifest the deepest zeal for Mahometanism, and show the greatest intolerance for the followers of other creeds. The Turkish family comprises rather a large number of races. We shall consider here only the Turcomans, the Kirghis, the Nogays, and the Osmanlis. The Turcomans. — The Turcomans wander in the steppes of Turkestan, Persia, and Afghanistan. They stray as far as Anatolia to the west. The tribes who dwell in this last district have the shape and the physical characteristics of the White Race ; those who inhabit Turkestan show in their physiognomy the admixture of Mongol blood. The Turcoman is above the middle height. He has not strongly developed muscles, but he is tolerably powerful and enjoys a robust constitution. His. skin is white ; his countenance is round ; his cheek bones are prominent ; his forehead is wide, and the development of the bony part of the skull forms a kind of crest at the top of the head. His almond-shaped and nearly lidless eye is small, lively, and intelligent. His nose is usually insignificant and turned up. The lower part of his face retreats a little, and his lips are thick. He has scanty moustachios and beard, and his ears are large and protruding. The Turcoman's dress consists of wide trousers falling over the foot and tight at the hips, and of a collarless shirt open at the right side down to the waist, falling, outside the trousers, half- way down the thigh. Outside these an ample coat is fastened round the waist by a cotton or wool belt. It is open in front and slightly crossed over the chest. Its sleeves are very long and very wide, a little skull-cap is worn instead of the hair, and is covered with a kind of head-dress called talbac, made of sheep skin, in the shape of a cone- with a slightly depressed summit. His shoes are a sort of slipper, or simply a sandal of camel or horse skin fastened to the foot by a woollen cord. The type is more strongly defined in the Turcoman women than in the men. Their cheek bones are more prominent, and their complexion is white. Their hair is generally thick but very short ; and they are obliged to lengthen their tresses with Hosted by G00gle MONGOLIAN BRANCH. 233 goat-hair loops and strings, to which they fasten glass beads and silver pearls. We will not describe their dress, but will only observe that they wear a round cap on their head, to which they fasten a silk or cotton veil falling backwards. The whole is surrounded by a kind of turban of the breadth of three fingers, on which are some little squares of silver. One end of the veil is brought under the chin from right to left, and is fastened, by a little silver chain ending in a hook, on the left side of the face. Trinkets, necklaces, bracelets, and chains play such a pro- minent part in the adornment of the Turcoman women, that a dozen of them together drawing water make as much tinkling as the ringing of a small bell* The men wear no ornament. Fig. 106 represents a camp of nomadic Turcomans. M. de Blocqueville, who published in 1866, in the " Tour du Monde," the curious account entitled "Fourteen months' captivity among the Turcomans," describes as follows the habits of these tribes : — " The Turcomans keep close to their tent a sheep or a goat, which they fatten and kill on special occasions. The bones are taken out and the meat is cut up and salted ; some of it is dried and acquires a high flavour much liked by the Turcomans ; the rest, cut into smaller pieces and placed in the animal's paunch, is kept to make soup out of. They collect the bones and other leavings, and stew them down in a pan so as to have some broth to offer on festival occasions to their friends and neighbours. The intestines fall to the children's share, who broil them on the coals and spend whole days in sucking and pulling about this half- cleansed offal. " Women are treated with more consideration by the Turcomans than by other Mussulmans. But they work hard, and every day have to grind the corn for the family food. Besides this, they spin silk, wool, and cotton ; they weave, sew, mill felt, pitch and strike the tents, draw water, sometimes do some wash- ing, dye woollen and silk stuffs, and manufacture the carpets. They set up out of doors, in the fine weather, a very primitive loom made of four stakes firmly fixed in the ground^ and, with the assistance of two large cross pieces on wThich they lay the woof, begin the weaving, which is done with an iron implement com- Hosted by G00gle rw> JWl VI 11TV V/X OJ...W H/ltlllV .^ f / v* l, WwV- l/UU WwV/ V1*V *w Uillll'V VSJ. I*. VVA ■r These carpets, generally about three yards long and a yard and half wide, are durable and well made. Every tribe or family ha 106.— TURCOMAN ENCAMPMENT. its own particular pattern, which is handed down from mother t daughter. The Turcoman women are necessarily endowed wit] MONGOLIAN BRANCH. 235 dry bread, or a kind of boiled meat with but little nourishment in it. It is especially turning the grindstone that wears them out and injures their chest. " In their rare intervals of leisure they have always got with them a packet, of wool or of camel's hair, or some raw silk, that they spin whilst they are gossiping or visiting their neighbours ; for they never remain quite idle like the women of some Mussul- man countries. " The man has also his own kind of work ; he tills the soil, tends the crops, gets in the harvest, takes care of the domestic animals, and sometimes starts on plundering expeditions in order to bring home some booty. He manufactures hand-made woollen rope ; cuts out and stitches together the harness and clothing of his horses and camels ; attempts to do a little trade, and in his leisure moments makes himself caps and shoes, plays on the doutar (an instrument with two strings), sings, drinks tea, and smokes. " These tribes are very fond of improving themselves, and of reading the few books that chance throws into their hands. "As a rule the children do not work before their tenth or twelfth year. Their parents up to that age make them learn to read and write. Those who are obliged to avail themselves of their children's assistance during the press of summer labour, take care that they make up for lost time in the winter. "The schoolmaster, mollah (priest or man of letters), is content to be remunerated either in kind, with wheat, fruit or onions ; or in money, according to the parents' position. Each child possesses a small board, on which the mollah writes down the alphabet or whatever happens to be the task ; this is washed off as soon as the child has learned his lesson. " The parents satisfy themselves that their children know their lessons before they set out for school : the women in particular are vain of being able to read. The men sometimes spend whole days in trying to understand books of poetry which come from Khiva or Boukhara, where the dialect is a little different to their own. " The Turcoman mollahs spend some years in these towns to enable themselves to study in the best schools. " All these tribes are Mahometan and belong to the Sunnite sect. The only external difference between them and the Hosted by G00gle 236 THE YELLOW KACE. Persians of the Schiite sect, who recognise Ali as Mahomet's only successor, consists, as is well known, in their mode of saying their devotions and of performing their ablutions. " Whilst at their prayers, they keep their arms crossed in front of them from the wrist upwards only, instead of keeping them by their side like the Persians. " Although they follow pretty regularly the precepts of their religion, they show less fanaticism and ostentatious bigotry than most other Easterns whom I have seen. For instance, they will consent to smoke and eat with Jews. " Every Turcoman has an affection for his tribe, and will devote himself, if need be, for the common weal. Their proper and dignified manners are far beyond a comparison with those of their neigh- bours— even the inhabitants of Boukliara and Khiva, whose morals have become corrupted to a painful degree. I have seldom seen quarrels and disturbances amongst the Turcomans. Sometimes I have been present at very lively and animated discussions, but I never heard any low abuse or bad language as in other countries. They are less harsh towards their women, and show them more consideration and respect than do the Persians. " When strangers are present, the women pass an end of their veil under their chin and speak in a low voice, but they are saluted and respected by the visitors, and enter into conversation with them without any harm being thought of it. "A woman can go from one tribe to another, or make a journey along an unfrequented road, without having to fear the least insult from any one. "When a Turcoman pays a visit he makes his appearance in one invariable manner. He lifts the door of the tent, bowing as lie enters, then comes to a stop and draws himself up to his full height : after a pause of a few seconds, during which he keeps his eyes fixed on the dome of the tent, probably to give the women time to cover their chins, he quietly pronounces his salutation without making the slightest gesture. After exchanging civilities and inquiries about the health of relations and friends, the master of the tent begs the visitor to take a seat on the carpet beside him. The wife then offers him a napkin with a little bread, or bread and water, or some sour milk, or a little fruit. The stranger discreetly only takes a few mouthfuls of what is offered to him.,, Hosted by G00gle 238 THE YELLOW EACE. The Kirghis. — The Kirghis (fig. 107) are a nomadic tribe. They inhabit the tract of country situated on the frontiers of the Russian and Chinese empires. They wander to and fro on wide spreading plains from lake Baikal to the borders of the Siberian steppes. They travel armed, and always prepared, either for war or for the chase. As wild beasts attack men when by themselves, they nearly always travel on horseback in troops. For the matter of that, the Kirghis never get off their horses. All business is settled, and all merchandise is bought and sold, on horseback. There is in a town, by name Shoura'iahan, where the sedentary Kirghis reside, a market-place where buyers and sellers do all their business without leaving the saddle. The Kirghis are much below the middle height. Their countenances are ugly. Having scarcely any bridge to their nose, the space between their eyes is flat and quite on a level with the rest of their face. Their eyes are long and half closed, the forehead protrudes at the lower part, and retreats at the top. Their big puffy cheeks look like two pieces of raw flesh stuck on the sides of their face. They have but little beard, then* body is not at all muscular, and their complexion is a dark brown. The Kirghis are something like the Uzbeks, a race whom we can only just mention, but the latter, living in a temperate climate, are tall and well made, while the former, under the influence of a rigorous one, are short and stunted. Both these people possess a certain kind of civilization in sjjite of their nomadic habits. In the districts in which they are in the custom of travelling, they have established relays of horses, a very necessary adjunct to their mode of life. The Nogays. — The Nogays, who once constituted a powerful nation on the shores of the Black Sea, are now scattered among other peoples. Many of them still wander in nomadic tribes, on the steppes between the banks of the Volga and the Caucasian mountains. Others who have settled down are tillers of the soil or artisans. Such are those to be met with in the Crimea or in Astracan. M. Vereschaguine came across some Nogays on the Caucasian steppes. This Eussian traveller says that they are peaceful and laborious, and more capable of becoming attached to Hosted by G00gle MONGOLIAN BRANCH. 239 the soil than the Kalmuks, whom they resemhle a great deal in their mode of life and in their habits and customs. The Osmanlis. — The most important members of the Turkish family are now the Osmanlis. The Osmanlis were the founders of the Turkish Empire and the conquerors of Constantinople. A tendency to a nomadic mode of life is a strong instinct with this race. . It degenerated as soon as it settled down anywhere, and this perhaps is the cause of the decline of the Turkish nation, which at present inhabits south-eastern Europe and Asia Minor. The residence in Europe and the civilization of the Osmanli Turks date from the Hegira of Mahomet in the seventh century after Christ. Physically speaking, their outlines would seem to ally them to the Caucasian race. This was the reason that they were so long classified among the White or Caucasian race ; but most modern anthropologists place them in the Yellow Race. The head of the Osmanli Turks is nearly round. The fore- head is high and broad : the nose is straight, without any depression at its bridge or widening at the nostrils. The Turkish head does not resemble the European head. It has a peculiar abrupt elevation of the occiput. Its proportions, however, are very good. Mongol descent can be traced in its shape, but scarcely in a perceptible manner, if the features of the face alone are to be taken into account. The Turks, in general, are tall, well made, robust men, with a rough but often noble physiognomy, a slightly tawny complexion, and brown or black hair. Their carriage is dignified, and their natural gravity is still further increased by the ample folds of their dress, by their beard, by their moustachios, and by that imposing head-dress, the turban. They are the most recent of all the races of Asian descent who have become Europeanized, and they still preserve, especially in Turkey in Asia, the habits, the costumes, and the belief that distinguished them three centuries Now, as then, the Turks, like Easterns in general, restrict themselves to a frugal and principally vegetable diet. They drink no wine. Bodily exercises, such as riding on horseback and the use of arms, develope their strength. Their hospitality is dignified and ceremonious. They are small talkers, are much Hosted by G00gle 240 THE YELLOW BACK given to devotion, at least to its outward and visible signs ; and they dwell in quiet unpretending houses surrounded by gardens. The Turk is a stranger to the feverish life of our European capitals. Lazily reclining on his cushions, he smokes his Syrian tobacco, sips his Arabian coffee, and seeks from a few grains of opium an introduction into the land of dreams. Such is Turkish life among the higher classes. The common people and the labourers have none of these refinements of existence. Yet the lower classes are less unhappy in Turkey, and in the East in general, than are those of European nations- Eastern hospitality is not an empty word. A wealthy Mussul- man never sends empty away the wretched who seek his assistance. Besides, it takes so little to support these temperate healthy people, and the earth so plentifully supplies vegetable produce in the East, that poor people can always find food and a roof to cover them. The Caravanserai are public inns where travellers and workmen are lodged for nothing ; and the hospitality shown to the unfortunate wayfarer by the country land-owners is really patriarchal. Polygamy is less in vogue in Turkey and in the East than is supposed. A Turkish woman being a very expensive luxury, that is to say, being in the habit of doing nothing and of spending a great deal, it is only very rich Mussulmans that can allow themselves the pleasure of supporting more than one wife. Sometimes, indeed, the bride's parents insert a clause in the marriage contract, by which the husband gives up his right as a Mahometan to possess four wives. Besides their legitimate wives, the wealthy and the great keep a collection of Georgian and Circassian slaves in the lonely sets of rooms, closed by Eastern jealousy to all prying eyes, which are called harems and not seraglios. It is only within these isolated apartments that Turkish women, whether wives or concubines, allow their faces and arms to be seen. Out of doors they are always wrapped up in a triple set of veils, which conceal their features from the keenest eye. Mahomet permitted women to abstain from taking part in public prayer in the mosques. It is therefore only in the interior of the harem that any gathering of Mussulman women can take place. It is there, too, that they give one another parties and entertainments. Hosted by G00gle evalent in Europe. Many European women would be glad to 108.— A HAREM. Hosted by GoOgle Vhn.ncfA. tTioir Inf. in lifo anrl 4 Via it* liVwyr+*r fnr iViA cnrmnaArl 242 THE YELLOW HACK liere to their material position, and not speaking from a moral point of view. The Turkish lady is born to total and complete idleness. A young girl who, at fourteen years of age, can not only sew fairly, but can actually read, is considered a very well educated person. If she can also write, and is acquainted with the first one or two rules of arithmetic, she is quite learned. The woman of the middle classes never condescends to trade, she is always idle. Even the poor woman rarely works, and then only when it suits her. The Turkish woman then, to whatever class she may happen to belong, is a votary of the far niente. To drive away ennui, the wealthier make or receive visits or frequent parties. In the harems of the rich, each lady receives her friends in her own room. There they talk, sing, or tell one another stories. They listen to music, they go to pantomimes, to dances, and walk in the gardens. They pass the long hours agreeably by taking baths together, by swinging in hammocks, by smoking the narguilhe, and by giving elegant little dinner parties. An evening party in a harem (la Kalva) is rather a rare occurrence, for night festivities are not among Mussulman habits. No man is present at these parties. As the guests arrive, the lady of the house begs them to be seated, and places them side by side on a divan with their legs crossed under them, or leaning on one knee. Coffee and a tchiboubwith an amber mouthpiece are handed round. Small portions of fruit jelly are served on a silver embossed dish. Each guest, after a little ceremonious hesitation, helps herself with the only spoon in the dish, and which everybody uses. Each then puts her lips to a large tumbler of water which follows the jelly. General and animated conversation then begins. The maids of the lady of the house seat themselves so that every one can see them, and begin to sing, accompanying themselves on the harp, on the mandolin, on little kettledrums, or on tambourines. After- wards other young girls go through a kind of pantomimic dance. When the music and the dances are over, they play games of cards, and the party winds up with a supper (fig. 109). Pleasure out of doors has other attractions. The Turkish ladies of the middle class frequent the bazaars and pay one another visits. Hosted by G00gle 'loito Lixxiitu ±ia.isj uccn nonnced beforehand, unexpected visits, and chance visits. The it are the most curious. Several ladies collect together and go 109.— A HAREM SUPPER. >ut in the different quarters of the town, paying visits to people Dm they have never seen (fig. 109). iValking parties in Constantinople are regular picnics. On idays and Fridays people leave town provided «wittr dB^orts of 244 THE YELLOW EACE. and form level plots : of ground. Tumblers and conjurors, musicians and dancers give performances on these terraces. Picturesque knots of women clad in their white yaschmacs, which cover the whole face and only reveal the nose, are to be seen there- Long flowing overdresses of a thousand different hues envelope the rest of their figure. The Turk may be lazy, but he is not at all unsociable, and many of his characteristics indicate a great deakof gentleness. Like the Indians and the ancient Egyptians, the Turks, and Easterns in general, have a great repugnance to the killing of animals. Dogs and cats abound and swarm in the streets of the large towns, but no measures are ever taken to prevent the multiplication and the running wild of these animals. In Constantinople flocks of pigeons fly hither and thither and levy, on the barges laden with wheat, a species of black mail that no one disputes with them. The banks of the canals are thickly peopled with aquatic animals, and their nests are safe even from the hands of children, in our country such cruel enemies to their broods. This forbearance is extended even to trees. If it is true that in China the law requires every land owner who fells a tree to plant one in its stead in another spot, it is equally true in Turkey that custom forbids an avaricious land owner from depriving either town or country of useful and wholesome shade. The wealthy townsmen make it a point of honour to embellish the public promenades with fountains and with resting places, both of which, on account of the frequency of ablutions and of prayers required by the Mahometan religion, are indispensable. Those who can only perceive in the Turkish nation coarseness, ignorance, and ferocity, have been deceived by the* pride natural to a Mussulman, which is made the more offensive by his silent and sometimes abrupt manners ; but the basis of the Mussulman character contains nothing to offend. The Turks are only what, it is possible for them to be with their lamentable institutions and their faulty laws. Their law we know is simnly despotism, which is carried out from the sultan down to the lowest official, unchecked by any guarantee of equity or of justice to individuals. The sultan (jpadishah, meaning great lord) appoints and dismisses at pleasure every dignitary and every official : he is the master of their fortunes and of their life. But anarchy is rife in the Hosted by G00gk 4 ^^ Wi M-'*a .$;. -.-••■^ji tfHIH IPC 1 * --*'4, 246 THE YELLOW EACE. kingdom, and the sultan's authority is not always obeyed. Pachas have attacked and annihilated the troops sent to drive them from their governorships ; others have been known to dis- patch to Constantinople the head of the general sent to crush and degrade them. The pachas are the governors of the provinces. Their rank is reckoned by the number of their standards or tails. They unite under one head the military and civil power, and by a still greater abuse, they are deputed to collect the taxes. They would be absolute sultans in their own provinces if the law did not leave the judicial authority in the hands of the cadis and the ndibs. A pacha with three tails has, like the sultan, the power of life and death over all the agents he employs, and even over all who threaten public safety. He keeps up a military force, and marches at their head when called on by the sultan. A pacha has under his orders several beys, or lieutenant-governors. The interior organization of Turkey may be described as a military despotism. The Turkish nation continues to administer its conquest as if it were a country taken by assault ; it leads the life of an army encamped in the midst of a conquered state. Everybody and everything is the property of the sultan. Christians, Jews, and Armenians are merely the slaves of the victorious Ottoman. The sultan graciously allows them to live, but even this concession they are obliged to purchase by paying a tribute, the receipt for which bears these words: "In purchase of the head.'' The sanje principle is carried out in regard to land. The Turks have no proprietary rights; they merely enjoy the usu- fruct of their possessions. When they die without leaving a male child, the sultan inherits their property. Sons can only claim a tenth part of their paternal inheritance, and the fiscal officials are ordered to put an arbitrary value on this tenth part. The officers of the State do not even enjoy this incomplete right; at their death everything reverts to the sultan. Under such laws, it is not to be wondered at if nobody cares to undertake expensive and lasting works. Instead of builds ing, people collect jewels and wealth easy to carry off or to conceal. Hosted by G00gle MONGOLIAN BRANCH. 247 The sultan, like a man embarrassed with such an abuse of power, shifts the cares of government on to the shoulders of the grand vizier. The grand vizier is the lieutenant of the sultan. He is the commander-in-chief of the army, he manages the finances, and fills up all civil and military appointments. But if the power of the grand vizier is limitless, his responsi- bility and the dangers he incurs are equally great. He must answer for all the State's misfortunes and for all public calami- ties. The sword is always suspended over his head. Surrounded by snares, exposed to all the tricks of hatred and envy, he pays with the price of his life the misfortune of having displeased either the populace or the highest officials. The grand vizier has to govern the country, with the assistance of a state council (divan) composed of the principal ministers. The reiss effendi is the high chancellor of the empire, and the head of the corpora- tion of the kodja, or men of letters. This corporation, which has managed to acquire a great political influence, contains at the present time some of the best informed men of the nation. The duty of watching over the preservation of the fundamental laws of the empire is entrusted to the ulema, or corporation of theological and legal doctors. These laws are very short : they consist only of the Koran, and of the commentaries on the Koran drawn up by ancient pundits. The members of this corporation bear the title of ulemas, or effendis. They unite judicial to religious authority ; they are at the same time the interpreters of religion, and the judges in all civil and criminal matters. The mufti is the supreme head of the ulema. He is the head of the church. He represents the sultan's vicar, as caliph or successor to Mahomet. The sultan can promulgate no law, make no declaration of war, institute no tax, without having obtained a fetfa, or approval from the mufti. The mufti presents every year to the sultan the candidates for the leading judicial magistracies ; these candidates are chosen from the members of the ulema. The post of mufti would be an excellent counterpoise to the authority of the sultan, if the latter had it not in his power to dismiss the mufti, to send him into exile, and even to condemn him to death. The foregoing political and judicial organization seems at first Hosted by G00gle 248 THE YELLOW RACE. sight very reasonable, and would appear to yield some guarantee to the subjects of the Porte. Dishonesty unfortunately prevents the regular progress of these administrative institutions. The venality of officials, their greed and their immorality, are such, that not the smallest post, not the slightest service, can be obtained without making them a present. Places, the judges' decisions, and the witnesses' evidence are all bought. False witnesses abound in no country in the shameless way they do in the Turkish empire, where the consequences of their perjury are the more frightful, since the cadi's decision is without appeal. Justice is meted out in Turkey as it was meted out three hundred years ago among the nomadic tribes of the Osmanlis. After a few contradictory pieces of evidence, after a few oaths made on both sides, without any preliminary inquiry, and without any advocates, the cadi or simply the nai'b, gives a decision, based upon some passage of the Koran. The penal code of this ignorant and hasty tribunal merely consists in fining the wealthy, in inflicting the bastinado on the common people, and in hanging criminals right out of hand. Yet Turkey possesses a kind of system of popular representa- tion. The inhabitants of Constantinople elect ayams, real dele- gates of the people, whose business it is to watch over the safety and the property of individuals, the tranquillity of the town, to oppose the unjust demands of the pachas, the excesses of the military, and the unfair collection of taxes. These duties are gratuitously performed by the most trustworthy men among the inhabitants. The ayams undertake all appeals to the pacha, when there exist any just grounds of complaint, and if he does not satisfy them, they carry their appeal to the sultan. Every trade and handicraft in Turkey possesses a kind of guild or corporation which undertakes to defend the rights of the association and of its individual members. The humblest artisan is protected in all legal matters by this corporation. It is unnecessary to say that the corporation enforces its rights before the judges by pecuniary means. It is a great mistake to imagine that the Mussulman religion predominates in Tin-key. In Turkey in Europe, not more than a quarter of the population profess the creed of Mahomet. The remainder are Christians, subdivided into the leading sects of that faith. The Greeks, the Servians, the Walachians, and the Hosted by G00gle> rhe Armenians are numerous, and are the more powerful on 111.— A TURKISH BARBER. Hosted by VjOOQlC iccount of their known character for austerity ana honesty 250 THE YELLOW RACE. in Egypt, the Nestorians, and the Maronites, have some influence, from the unity which reigns among their different sects ; the Druzes, for instance, defy the Mahometans to their very face. There are more Jews in Turkey in Europe, than in any other country. All these brotherhoods, excepting the Druzes and the Maronites, were formerly deprived of the free right of worship, were liable to marks of ignominy, and were handed over, defence- less, to injustice. But in the beginning of our century, an edict of the sultan declared all his subjects, regardless of their religion, equal in the eyes of the law. Mahometanism, which prevails in Turkey, and in the greater portion of the East, dates from the 610th year of our era. Its principal doctrines are purification, prayer, and fasting. The fasting takes place in the month of Ramazan, a month which is the Mussulman's Lent, and during which all food must be abstained from in the daytime. It is followed by the festival of Beyram, during which the faithful are allowed to make up for their preced- ing abstinence. A legal charity is instituted by their creed. It consists in giving every year to the poor a fortieth part of their movable property. Another religious injunction is the pilgrim- age to Mecca, which every Mussulman is obliged to undertake at least once in his lifetime. Their devotions take place five times a day. Friday is the day of rest for the Mahometans, as Sunday is that of the Christians, and Saturday that of the Jews. Mahometanism has inherited from the ancient Arabs the practice of circumcision. Mussulmans are forbidden to drink in- toxicating drinks, but are allowed to marry four wives, and to make concubines of their female slaves. Their religion deprives them of all liberty of will, as it tells them that everything that can happen, either for evil or for good, is settled beforehand. It is this fatalism that paralyzes all individual enterprise, and pre- vents the march of progress. Mahometanism has not been more exempt than other creeds from schisms, which have brought to pass religious wars always so terrible in their consequences. Its precepts, which have their advantages from a religious point of view, have many disastrous consequences when we regard man- kind's physical constitution. The interdict on the use of wine, Hosted by G00gle rinks, and to the public use of opium. **3$ferJK* **3K5^& 112.— TURKISH PORTER. Hosted by G00gle The Turks, although their literary civilization is "still in its 252 THE YELLOW RACE. Constantinople, of Broussa, and of Adrianople, have colleges attached to them. Young men are sent from all parts of the Mussulman empire to these colleges, where they receive some amount of education. When they have finished their course of study, in which the commentaries on the Koran play the prin- cipal part, and when several examinations have tested their proficiency, the pupils receive the title of mudir or professor. All civil and judicial posts are monopolized by this educated class. But in Turkey, what knowledge there is, remains absorbed among a small quantity of individuals ; no channel exists for the free intercommunication of ideas. Their kodjas, or writers, have indeed given their fellow country- men a large number of works, much esteemed by them — works on the Arabic and Persian languages, on philosophy, on morality, on Mussulman history, and on the geography of their country. But these writings, whatever their value, never reach the mass of the nation. There are but few printing presses in Turkey; the copyist's art, such as it existed in Europe in the middle ages, still flourishes there. The state of literature in Turkey shows us what modern civilization would have become in Europe, without the assistance of the printer. With this general want of literary and scientific knowledge, we naturally expect to find Turkey far behindhand in art, in manu- factures, and in agriculture. The latter, in fact, is in a sad state throughout the whole extent of the Ottoman empire. Manufac- tures exist in a few towns ; in Constantinople, in Salonica, in Adrianople, and in Bustchuk. Their principal manufactures are carpets, morocco leather, a little silk, thread and swords. Their commerce consists in the export of their raw produce ; such as wool, silk, cotton, leather, tobacco, and metals, particularly copper; wine, oil, and dried fruit are also largely exported. The Turks are good cloth manufacturers, gunsmiths, and tanners. Their works in steel and copper, and their -dyes, are equal to the best articles of European manufacture. The Greeks, who are very numerous in Turkey, follow all kinds of trades and callings. They make the best sailors of the Otto- man empire, while the Armenians are its keenest traders. The latter travel all over the interior of Asia and India; they have branch establishments and correspondents everywhere. Most of Hosted by G00gle MONGOLIAN BRANCH. 253 them, while pursuing some mechanical art, are at the same time the bankers, the purveyors, and the men of business of the pachas, and other great officials. Jews show in a less favourable light in Turkey than in Europe ; any business suits them, if they can make something out of it. Figs. Ill and 112 represent two common Turkish types — a barber and a street porter. Hosted by G00gle CHAPTEE III. SINAIC BRANCH. The nations belonging to the Sinaic branch (from ihe Latir Siruz, Chinese) have not the features of the Yellow Race so wel] denned as those belonging to the Mongolian branch. Their nose is less flattened, their figures are better, and they are taller. 113. — INDO-CHINESE OF STUNG TRENG. They early acquired rather a high degree of civilization, but they have since remained stationary, and their culture, formerly one of the most advanced in the world, is now very sm^eacteleompared to the progress made bv the inhabitants of Europe and AmericA. 2o6 THE YELLOW KACE. very far by nations belonging to the Sinaic branch. Living under a despotic government, and accustomed to abjectly cringe to those in authority, this race developed a peculiar taste for ceremony and etiquette. Their language is monosyllabic, their writing is hieroglyphic, and these facts perhaps account for the scant progress made by their civilization in modern times. The Sinaic branch comprises the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Indo-Chinese famihes. The Chinese Family. The Chinese, amongst whom, out of all the Yellow Race, civili- zation was the first to develop itself, have the following charac- teristic features. Width and flatness in the subocular part of the face, prominent cheek bones, and obliquely set eyes. Their features as a whole partake of the type of the Mongol race : that is to say, they have a broad coarse face, high cheek bones, heavy jaws, a flat bridge to their nose, wide nostrils, obliquely set eyes, straight and plentiful hair, of a brownish black colour with a red tint in it, thick eyebrows, scanty beards, and a yellowish red complexion. They constitute the principal population of the vast empire of China, and extend even further. Many have settled in Indo- China, in the islands of the Straits, and in the Philippine islands. China in four thousand years has been governed by twenty-eight dynasties. The emperor is merely an ornamental wheel in the mechanism of the Chinese government, the councillors possess- ing the real power. Centralization plays a powerful part in the administrative organization of the country. The emperor's authority is founded on a secular and patriarchal respect, bound- less in its influence. Veneration for old age is a law of the, state. Infirm old men, too poor to hire litters, are often seen in the streets of Pekin, seated in little hand carriages, dragged about by their grandchildren. As they pass, the young people about receive them respectfully, and leave off for the moment their play or their work. The government encourages these feelings by giving yellow dresses to very old men. This is the highest mark of distinction a private individual can receive, for yellow is the colour reserved for the members of the imperial family. Their respect for their ancestors is also carried very far by the Hosted by G00gle Lcac. -Limy picicubt; a xmu ui mwuy wursiiip m uieir HIT. 115.— A YOUNG CHINESE. Hosted by G00gle 1 • /V» t T\ IT** Classes lUUUW l/JUC JJIGUtJptS ui vumuwua, -uui gicai icug toleration exists in the Celestial Empire. The men of the hi| 116.— CHINESE SHOPKEEPER. Hosted by G00gle IT A 11 i 1» __ Xl_ _ A. 1 .f~««, w ljliciix- xjjLCkiAj vvj.ucijr umciuug Ulceus cUC &ccu blue uy throughout the whole empire. ie Buddhist priests are called Bonzes. 117. — CHINESE LADY. te position of women is in China a hiimhteteddra.00SMe is J J • * ! "I T 1 ' il Pi J-J -_ _ OJ.X\-/ LCUXt/O HC1 IIJ.^^J.0 aiUll^y QJLl^ iUJ,*XA» w"V vn^.wx^»j vjl ui wv/a. i will is considered one. Her calling is merely to ply the needle to prepare the food. A woman is her father s, her brother's her husband's property. A young girl is given in marc without being consulted, without being made acquainted with future husband, and often even in ignorance of his name. The wealthy Chinese shut their wives up in the women's ap 118, — CHINESE WOMAN. ments. When their lords and masters allow them to pay another visits, or to go and see their parents, they go ou hermetically closed litters. They live in a wing of the build reserved for their use, where no one can see them. It is otherwise amongst the poorer classes. The womer out of doors with their face uncovered ; but they pay dearl] this privilege, for they are nothing but the beasts of burde their husbands. They age very rapidly. Polygamy exists in China, but only on sufferance. A ma: rank may have several wives, but the fiiMteWe^fiIy^is the le * + ^ ^w tit: a s .J. «n^ — a 4., "D^-^^'krtlo. r, r marry another. 119. — mandarin's daughter. Hosted by GoOgk Tnnrrifl.srp nerpmnnv at Ppkin takes nlare as follows. The 262 THE YELLOW RACE. receives her on the threshold. She is dressed in garments embroidered with gold and silver. Her long black tresses are covered with precious stones and artificial flowers. Her face is painted, her lips are reddened, her eyebrows are blackened, and her clothes are drenched with musk. Many of the Chinese women have the complexion and the good looks of Creoles ; a tiny well shaped hand, pretty teeth, splendid black hair, a slender supple figure, and obliquely set eyes with a piquancy of expression that lends them a peculiar charm. The drawback to their appearance is their lavish use of paint, and their small crippled feet. The Tartar and Chinese ladies composing the court of the Empress, as well as the wives of the officials residing in the capital, do nothing to distort their feet, except to wear the theatrical buskin, in which it is very difficult to walk. But a Chinese woman of good middle class family would think herself disgraced, and would have a difficulty in getting a husband, unless she had crippled her feet. This is what is done to give them a pleasing appearance. The feet of little girls of six years of age are tightly compressed with oiled bandages ; the big toe is bent under the other four, which are themselves folded down under the sole of the foot. These bandages are drawn tighter every month. When the girl has grown up, her foot presents the appear- ance of a closed fist. Women with their feet mutilated in this manner walk with great difficulty. They move about with a kind of skip, stretching out their arms to keep their equi- librium. Another of their conventional points of beauty is to wear then- finger-nails very long. For fear of breaking them they cover them with little silver sheaths, which they also use as ear- picks. A quantity of toilet accessories gives a peculiar appearance to the costume of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire. Fans, parasols, pipes, snuff-boxes, tobacco-pouches, spectacle cases, and purses, are all hung at the girdle by silken strings. The use of the fan is common to both sexes, of all classes. The hang, at once a bed, a sofa, and a chair; some mats stretched upon the floor; and a few chairs or stools with cushions on them, are to be found in every room of a Chinese house. The interior of these dwellings is a true citadel of sloth. The China- Hosted by Google SINAIC BRANCH. 263 man squatted on his mat, dallying with his fan and smoking his pipe, is amused at the European who actually takes the trouble to use his legs. To give a more exact idea of domestic Chinese life, we will give a few extracts from the interesting travels of M. de Bour- boulon, a French consul in China, travels edited by M. Pous- sielgue, and published in the " Tour du Monde " in 1864. " A Chinese palace, " says M. Poussielgue, "is thus laid out : more than half the site is taken up with alleys, courts, and gardens crowded with rock-work, rustic bridges, fishponds full of gold fish, aviaries stocked with peacocks, golden pheasants, and partridges from Pe-tche-li, and especially a quantity of painted and varnished porcelain and earthenware jars, containing miniature trees, vines, jessamines, creepers and flowers of all kinds. The principal room on the ground floor opens on to the garden; a piece of open trellis work separates it from the sleeping apartment. The ground floor also comprises the dining-room, the kitchen, and sometimes a bath-room. When there is a second story, called leou, it contains beds and lumber rooms. The entrance-hall is invariably sacred to the ancestors and to the guardian spirits of the family. In every room the kang, which serves as a bed, a sofa, or a chair ; and thick mats, laid upon the floor, are to be met with. The actual furniture is scanty; a few chairs and stools made of hard wood, with cushions placed on them ; a small table in red lacquer work ; an incense burner ; some gilt or enamelled bronze candlesticks ; flower stands and baskets of flowers ; some pictures drawn on rice paper; and finally the inevitable tablet inscribed with some moral apothegm, or a dedication to the ancestors of the master of the house. There are no regular windows ; a few square openings, pierced in the side wall where the rooms open on a court or garden, or inserted beneath the double beams supporting the roof where the apartment might be overlooked from the street or from the neighbouring houses, allow a dim light to penetrate through the cross laths of their wooden lattices which serve as fixed blinds to them (figs. 120 and 121). " The wealthy, abandoning themselves to a luxurious idleness, spend half their existence in these secluded chambers; it is almost impossible for a European to procure admittance to them, for communicative as the Chinese are in business, at festivals, or Hosted by G00gle mg their domestic life. " Physical idleness is carried to an enormous extent in Chi it is considered ill bred to take walks, and to use the lhr Nothing surprises the natives more than the perpetual craving 120. — CHINESE BOUDOIR. exercise that characterizes Europeans. Squatted on their han they light their pipe, toy with their fans, and jeer at the Europe passers-by, whose firm measured footsteps carry them up a down the street. It is necessary to make excuses for comi neither on horseback nor in a palanquin, when paying an offic visit, for to do so on foot is a sign of but lifltajgapect for t person visited. SINAIC BRANCH. 265 where one can always be hired at a moment's notice, are estab- lished in Peking. A palanquin carried by six coolies costs about a piastre per day ; with four coolies half a piastre ; with only two, a hundred sapecas. The French Legation keeps twenty-four palanquin porters, dressed in blue tunics with tricolor collars and facings. Palanquins are usually open both in front and behind ; they have a small window at the side, and a cross plank on which the passengers sit. " The rage for gambling is one of the curses of China ; a curse that has begotten a thousand others, in all ranks and at all ages. One meets in the streets of Peking a quantity of little itinerant gaming stalls ; sometimes consisting of a set of dice in a brass cup on a stand, sometimes a lottery of little sticks marked with numbers, shaken up by the croupier in a tin tube. We saw crowds round these sharpers, and the passing workman, yielding to the irresistible temptation, loses in an hour his day's hard earnings. The coolies attached to the French army used to thus lose their month's pay the day after they got it ; some of them having pledged their clothes to the croupiers, who do a little pawnbroking into the bargain, had to make their escape amid the jeers of the mob, and used to return to camp with nothing on but a pair of drawers. " Cock and quail fighting are still practised as an excuse for gambling by the Chinese, who stake large sums on the result. The wealthy and the mercantile classes are just as inveterate gamesters as the common people ; they collect in the tea-houses and spend day and night in playing at cards, at dice, at dominos, and at draughts. Their cards, about five inches long, are very narrow, and are a good deal like ours, with figures and pips of different colours marked on them. The game most in vogue seems to be a kind of cribbage. Their draughtsmen are square, and the divisions of the board are round. Their dominos are flat, with red and blue marks. They play at draughts also with dice, a sort of backgammon. Professional gamblers prefer dice to any other game, as it is the most gambling of all. When they have lost all their money, they stake their fields, their house, their children, their wives, and, as a last resort, themselves when they have nothing else left, and their antagonist agrees to let them make such a final stake. A shopkeeper of Tien-tsin, who was minus two fingers of his left hand, had lost them over the dice Hosted by G00gle 266 THE YELLOW RACE. box. The women and children are fond of playing at shuttlecock ; it is their favourite game, and they are very expert at it. The shuttlecock is made of a piece of leather rolled into a ball, with one or two metal rings round it to steady it ; three long feathers are stuck into holes in these rings. The shuttlecock is kept up with the soles of their slippers, which they use instead of battle- dores ; it is very seldom allowed to fall. " Gambling, which paralyzes labour, is one of the permanent causes of their pauperism, but there is another, still more disastrous — dissipation. The thin varnish of decency and restraint with which Chinese society is covered, conceals a widespread corruption. Public morality is only a mask worn above a deep depravity surpassing all that is told in ancient history, all that is known of the dissipated habits of the Persians and Hindoos of our own day. "Drunkenness, as understood in Europe, is one of the least of their vices. The use of grape wine was forbidden, centuries ago, by some of their emperors, who tore up all the vine trees in China. This interdiction having been taken off under the Manchu dynasty, grapes are grown for the use of the table, but the only wine that is drunk is rice wine or samchow. A spirit as strong as our brandy is extracted from this as well as from coarse millet seed. It induces a terrible form of intoxication. The abuse of it by our soldiers in the Chinese campaign caused a great deal of fatal dysentery in the army. " The tea-houses also sell alcoholic liquor, but the eating- houses and the taverns drive the largest trade in it. " We cannot speak of the process of the manufacture of tea, nor of the vast amount of labour it employs : the subject properly belongs to southern China ; we will only say that the use of tea is as common in the north as in the south. The moment you enter a house, tea is offered to you — it is a sign of hospitality to do so. It is given to you in profusion ; the moment your cup is empty, a silent attendant fills it, and your host will not permit you to mention the subject of your visit till you have drunk a certain quantity. The tea-houses are as numerous as cafes and taverns in France ; the elegant manner in which they are furnished, and their high charges, distinguish some from others. The rich trader and the idle man of fashion, not caring to mix with the grimy handed workman or the coarse peasant, Hosted by G00gle SINAIC BRANCH. 267 only frequent those houses that have a fashionable reputation. Tea houses can be recognized by the large range at the end of their rooms, fitted up with huge kettles and massive tea pots, with ovens and stoves supplying with boiling water immense caldrons as big as a man. A singular kind of time-piece is placed above the range ; it is made of a large moulded bar of incense divided off by equidistant marks, so that the lapse of hours can be measured by its combustion. The Chinese can thus literally use the expression, "consuming the time." Morning and evening the rooms are full of customers, who for two sapecas, the price of entrance, can sit there and discuss their business, play, smoke, listen to music, or amuse themselves by looking at the feats of tumblers, . jugglers, and athletes. For the two sapecas they have also the right to drink ten cups of tea (certainly extremely small ones), with which, on trays covered with cakes and dried fruits, a crowd of waiters keep running to and fro. " One day," says a letter of M. X., a French officer in the 101st Eegiment of the Line, " we determined to dine a la chinoise in a Chinese eating-house. Our coolies arranged beforehand that the price was to be two piastres a head, a large sum for this country, where provisions are so cheap. As a preparation for dinner, we had to thread our way through a labyrinth of lanes, crowded with dens in which crouched thousands of ragged beggars, poisoning the atmosphere with their exhalations. At the entrance to the open space in front of the eating-house stood a quantity of heaps of refuse, composed of old vegetable stalks, rotten sausages, and dead cats and dogs, and in every hole and corner a mass of filth as disagreeable to the nose as to the eye. It required a strong stomach to retain an appetite after running the gauntlet of such a horrible mess. A few tea drinkers and card players were seated at the door, and seemed to care very little for the pesti- lential character of the neighbourhood. We tried to be equally courageous, and after admiring two immense lanterns which adorned the entrance, and the sign inscribed in big letters, ' The three principal Virtues/ we ventured to hope that honesty would prove one of them, and that the tavern keeper would give us our money's worth. " Our entry into the principal room created a little excitement, for, accustomed as the Chinese are to see us, we still, in the quarters of the town where Europeans seldom venture, cause a Hosted by G00gle A 268 THE YELLOW RACE. certain amount of curiosity, not unmixed with alarm. Two square tables surrounded by wooden benches, on which had been placed, as a particular favour, some stuffed cushions, had been prepared for us. The waiters thronged round us with red earthen tea-pots, and white metal cups ; there were no spoons ; boiling water was poured on a pinch of tea leaves, placed at the bottom of the cups, and we were obliged to drink the infusion through a small hole in the lid. When we had got through this ordeal like regular Chinamen, we called for the first course, which consisted of a quantity of wretched little lard cakes, sweetened with dried fruit; and for hors-d'oeuvre, a kind of caviare made of the intestines, the livers, and the roes of fish pickled in vinegar, and some land shrimps cooked in salt water; these were really nothing but large locusts. This dish, howrever, found in most warm countries, was not at all bad. We did not get along very well with the first course, which was immediately followed by the second. The waiters placed on the table some plates, or rather saucers, for they were no bigger, and some bowl-shaped dishes, full of rice dressed in different ways with small pieces of meat arranged in pyramids on top of it. Chop-sticks accompanied these savoury dishes. What were we to do ? Nobody but a regular Chinese can help himself with these two little bits of wood, one of which is usually held stationary between the thumb and the ring finger, while the other is shifted about between the fore and middle fingers. The natives lift the saucers to their lips, and swallow the rice by pushing it into their mouth with the chop-sticks, but we tried to accomplish this in vain, and all the more so,sthat our fits of laughter prevented us from making any really earnest attempt. It was, however, impos- sible for us to compromise the dignity of our civilization by eating with our fingers like savages, and happily one of our number, with more forethought than the rest, had brought with him a travelling case holding a spoon, and a knife and fork. We then each in turn dipped the spoon into the bowls before us, with an amount of suspicion, however, that prevented the proper appreciation of the highly flavoured messes they contained. At last some less mysterious dishes, in quantity enough to satisfy fifty people, made their appearance ; chickens, ducks, mutton, pork, roast hare, fish and boiled vegetables. White grape wine arid rice wine were at the same time handed to us in microscopic cups of painted porcelain. None of the beverages were sweet, not even the tea, \ L Hosted by G00gle light to a close by a bowl of soup, which was really an enormous ze of stewed meat swimming about in a sea of gravy. f Satiated rather than satisfied, we should have preferred some re Chinese dishes ; some swallows' nests, or a stew of ging- 121. — CHINESE SITTING-ROOM. g roots, but it appears that such delicacies as these must be lered for days beforehand, and paid for by their weight in gold. i swallowed a glass of tafia, a liquor which is becoming quite hionable in Chinese eating-houses, and lighting our cigars ked about us. The day was drawing to a H3l©8€^0togltavern TViO -TIT 1*11 riV* trrrr\ir*r\ r%4- +i*»o+ •»> r\ *> •*•■ -rr r\-rv\'v\4-'TT Trrrkf*-% -filllTlff TXTlfVl AUC+riTYlO^C! 270 THE YELLOW RACE. occupations. The waiter kept calling out in a loud voice the names and the prices of the dishes that were ordered, and these were repeated by an attendant standing at the counter behind which sat the master of the place. Some shop-keepers were playing at pigeon fly; one held up as many of the fingers of both hands as he thought fit, his antagonist had to guess im- mediately how many, and to hold up simultaneously exactly the same number of his own. The loser paid for a cup of rice wine. " The room was beginning to reek with a nauseous odour, in which we recognised the smell of opium smoke. It was the hour for that fatal infatuation. Smokers with sallow complexions and hollow eyes, began to disappear mysteriously into some closets at the end of the room. We could see them lying down on mat beddings, with hard horsehair pillows." Fig. 122 shows one of these closets kept for the use of opium- smokers. The utensils and paraphernalia necessary for the pre- paration and lighting of the opium pipe, lie on the table. Agriculture has in China reached a remarkable degree of per- fection. It is the great source of the wealth of the country ; it is the progress it has attained that allows the Celestial Empire to support such an immense population in a relatively confined area. The profession of agriculturist is consequently held in great respect. We will quote M. Poussielgue on the subject : " Towards the end of March, 1861," says that writer, " Prince Kong, the Imperial regent, proceeded in great state to the Temple of Agriculture, on the outskirts of the Chinese part of the town of Peking, and, after offering sacrifices to the guardian Deity of mankind, who encourages their labour by giving them the gifts of the earth, put his own hand to the plough, and turned up several furrows ; a crowd of notabilities, ministers, masters of the cere- monies, the great officers of state, three princes of the Imperial family, and a deputation of labourers accompanied the Emperor's representative. As soon as Prince Kong had finished ploughing the plot of ground reserved for him, and marked out with yellow flags, the three Imperial princes, followed by the nine chief digni- taries of the empire, took their turn at the plough, till the whole field was covered with furrows, in which mandarins of lesser rank scattered the seed, whilst labourers covered with rakes and rollers the sacred germs entrusted to the ground. During the Hosted by G00gle tV XVV/A. VA cnony. * j y This intellectual patronage, this ennobling of agriculture, had immense results. No country in the world is cultivated ^ 122. — OPIUM-SMOKERS. i so much care, or perhaps, with more success than China, loes not contain a square inch of waste ground. In the province of Pe-tche-li, where land is very much cut up > small lots, agricultural operations are conducted oo a limited o Vmf fViA intolliffoTif marmot tti wViipVi +VipV RTA flflTrifid Ollf,. 272 THE YELLOW RACE. villages are seen there, but in compensation for their absence a quantity of farms and farm-houses nestle here and there under the shade of lofty trees. The buildings take up but little room, and so economical are the peasants of the soil, that they place their hayricks and their wheat sheaves on the flat roofs of their dwell- ings. Fig. 123 represents their system. " If, however, they are saving of the soil, they are not sparing of pains. Thanks to the abundance and cheapness of labour, they have been able to adopt a system of cultivating the earth in alternate rows, and thus never to let the ground lie fallow, but to have a succession of crops during the whole summer. Between the rows of the sorgho (holcus sorghum), which reaches a height of ten or twelve feet, they sow a plant of lesser growth, the smaller kind of millet, which thrives in the shade of its gigantic neighbour. When they have reaped the sorgho, the millet, exposed to the rays of the sun, ripens in its turn ; they plant rows of beans in the midst of their maize fields, and the former ripens before the latter, of slower growth, is big enough to choke them. They plant the earth they dig out of their draining trenches with castor-oil or cotton plants, whose large green leaves make a kind of hedge to the cornfields. And when |he soil is barren and full of stones they plant it with the resinous pine, or with the cathse, an oily plant that flourishes on the poorest ground. " Nothing is more stirring than the picture presented by the wide plains of Pe-tche-li at harvest time. The toil of the husbandman has brought forth its fruit ; the crops of all kinds fill to overflowing the granaries ; threshers, winnowers and reapers, with crowds of gleaning women and children, fill the air with their joyous songs, as half stripped beneath the glowing sun, with their pig-tails wound around their heads, they zealously toil on from daybreak to night fall, only leaving off for a few moments to swallow an onion or two, or a handful of rice, to take a few whiffs at their pipe, or to vigorously fan themselves when the heat becomes unbearable, and the perspiration is running down their stalwart limbs. " Water in this province is as little neglected as the land. "Pisciculture is practised on a large scale and in the most intelligent manner. When spring returns, a quantity of vendors of fish spawn perambulate the country to sell this precious spat Hosted by G00gle * I § iA: ^■fj 274 THE YELLOW RACE. to the pond owners. The eggs, fecundated by the milt, are carried about in small barrels full of damp moss. These spawn- sellers are followed by hawkers of young fry, skilful divers who catch in very fine nets the new born fish reposing in the holes in the river beds. These fry are reared in special ponds, and dis- seminated when they have grown bigger in the lakes and larger pieces of water. The Chinese have succeeded in rearing and preserving in artificial basins the most interesting and most pro- ductive species of their rivers. In the immense lakes close to the Temple of Heaven at Peking, they rear gold fish, a kind of bream weighing sometimes as much as twenty-five pounds, carp, and the celebrated kia~yu, a domestic fish. Morning and evening the keepers bring herbs and grains for the fish, which greedily eat them, and which soon reach a considerable size, thanks to this fattening diet. A lake managed in this way is a greater source of revenue to its owner than the most fruitful fields. " The sea-shore at the mouth of the Pei-ho is covered with parks to hold the fish at low water. These are made of several lengths of blue cotton stuff stretched on a cane framework, which is fastened to a quantity of small stakes. This framework folds in any direction like the leaves of a screen. A drag net is also used by the inhabitants of the coast. Soles, sea toads, bream, gold fish, whiting, cod and a quantity of other fish are caught in the gulf of Pe-tche-li. Many cetaceous fish are also found there, dolphins, several lands of sharks, amongst them the tiger shark (Squalus tigrinus), whose striped and spotted skin is used in several manufactures, and a large species of turtle. " River fishing, with which we are better acquainted, is followed in several ingenious fashions. There is trained cormorant fish- ing, fly fishing, harpoon fishing, rod fishing, and net fishing ; dams are also placed across the streams at the travelling periods of migratory fish. The Pei-ho, crowded with fishermen, presents a most lively appearance ; on its surface you see large boats containing whole families ; the women occupied in mending the nets, in making osier fishing-rods, in cleaning and salting the day's catch, and in carrying in vases the fish they wish to keep alive ; the little children, with their waists girdled with a life belt of - pigs' bladders,' running about and climbing like cats up the masts and the rigging ; the men dropping their large nets perpendicularly into the water, and easily raising them again by Hosted by G00gle r vwviv^t. vwuiiUVl on which they lean the whole weight of their body (fig. 124), •s watching their nets lying at the bottom of the stream, 124. — CHINESE FISHING. whereabouts indicated by the wooden floats that are bobbing d down here and there ; others again desceiwliB^jflitegkver 276 THE YELLOW RACE. their prey, they have invented a kind of raft, made of a couple of beams fastened together with wooden rungs ladderwise ; the stem is pointed, and in the stern, which is square, a paddle is kept with which they steer themselves. By a wonderful piece of equilibrium they manage to keep in an upright position, their feet on different rungs, with one hand stretched out grasping the harpoon, and their head extended to catch a sight of the fish as it sleeps in the sunshine on the top of the water. It is a stirring sight to see five or six fishermen abreast, descending with the current on these frail barks. They wear a broad-brimnied straw hat, and their clothing consists of a waterproof jerkin of woven cane, and a pair of drawers made of small pieces of reed stitched together. Their naked arms and legs are muscular and bronzed, their countenance is resolute, and its calm expression shows that they are inured to danger. Although it often happens that the harpooned fish, more powerful than the harpooner, makes the latter lose his balance and tumble into the water, when his only means of safety lie in cutting the rope fastened to his wrist to save himself from being dragged under, accidents are seldom heard of, for all are excellent swimmers. At night a strange noise is heard on the river, lighted up with resin torches ; the fishermen rush about the stream beating wooden drums to drive the fish towards the spots where they have stretched their nets." Living is very cheap in China, owing to the skill of the agricultural labourers and that of the artisans and mechanics. A whole family can cook its meals with one or two pounds of dried grass, which costs about a penny a pound. Fire-places are very little used, except in the more northern provinces ; but warm clothing is worn when the climate makes it necessary. The dwellings have a low pitch, so that with the coal found in many of the provinces, with the prunings of the trees, and with the roots of the mountain shrubs, their inhabitants can cheaply procure the fuel necessary to warm themselves with.* There is a great scarcity of forests in China, as the country has been entirely denuded to support its teeming population. Grazing fields are equally scarce, so that butdner's meat, beef or mutton, is dear. The inhabitants however get along without it, thanks to the numerous streams, rivers, lakes, and canals which intersect China, and swarm with fish. Fishing does not take * Simon, Report of the Acclimatization Society, March, 1869. Hosted by G00gle 5BII IV \\ i\P~rz "iLSsJJ! La <». • < vs 278 THE YELLOW EACE. place in the streams of running water alone. Fish are caught in the rice fields, and even in the pools caused by the heavy rains, so rapid is the production of these animals. A kind of fish exists in China which multiplies at such an astonishing rate, that it produces two broods in a month, this fish is consequently not more than a penny and the dearest tenpence a pound. All kinds of fisheries are carried on — net, rod, otter and cormorant fishing. It is thus that animal food for four hundred millions of inhabitants is provided. Pigs, ducks, and chickens are also a great resource. Pork fias become such a general article of food, that its cost is higher than that of beef, although the latter is much the scarcest. The ducks are found in flocks of three or four thousand on the lakes and pieces of water. They are watched by children in a kind of small canoe. Sometimes the drakes bring the ducklings to the water, keeping guard over them from the bank, and recalling them when necessary with a sharp piercing cry which the young ones perfectly understand. There is a large trade in ducks. They dry them by putting them between a couple^of planks like plants ; and they are sent in this guise to the most remote parts of the empire. Dogs of a particular breed, reared for the market in the southern provinces, are prepared in the same way, but only for the consumption of the very poorest classes. Goats and sheep are also rather largely made use of for food, but not to such an extent as pigs, ducks and chickens. It may be seen therefore that the Chinese have learnt how to supply the place of the larger kind of butcher's meat. Vegetables however form the staple of their food. This explains how it is possible for four hundred millions of inhabi- tants to exist in a country whose acreage is not more than four or five times that of France. Chinese horticulture contains eighty different kinds of vegetables, and out of these eighty, at least twenty-five constitute a direct article of food for man. But the most precious of all is rice, and the Chinese spare no pains in perfecting its cultivation. In aid of this cultivation they have sacrificed their forests, dug immense lakes, and even pierced lofty mountains. For its sake they collect the water of both stream and river, and direct its course from the mountain's foot over the soil they wish to irrigate. Perhaps no greater or more grandiose Hosted by G00gle SINAIC BKANCH. 279 work exists in the whole world than the gigantic hydraulic system which, throughout the whole of China, from the west to the sea coast, directs the flow of its waters, and pours them over the fields of every tiller of its soil. This great work was carried out four thousand years ago, but public gratitude has not forgotten its promoter. They still point out not far from Ning-po, the field where the little peasant used to work who after accomplishing* his enterprise became the great emperor Yu. All the inhabitants of the canton where he was born are considered as his descendants or as those of his family, and are exempt from taxation ; and the anniversary of his birth is celebrated every year in a special temple with as much zeal as if the benefits he has bestowed were things of yesterday. The Chinese do their best not only for rice, but for every kind of produce, or to put it better, for the earth itself, the earth that brings it forth. Agriculture to the Chinese is more than a calling, it is almost a religion. The Chinaman repeats to himself these words of the old Persian law : " Be thou just to the plant, to the bull, and to the horse ; nor be thou unmindful of the dog. The earth has a right to be sown ; neglect it and it will curse thee, fertilize it and it will be grateful to thee. It says to him who tills it from the right to the left, and from the left to the right, may thy fields bring forth of all that is good to eat, and may thy countless villages abound with prosperity.' ' It adds again, " Labour and sow : the sower who sows with purity obeys the whole law." When the earth therefore does not produce abundant crops, the Chinese lay the blame on themselves. They purify them- selves and fast. Confucius, besides, has said : " If you wish for good agriculture, be of pure morals."* The soil in China yields as much as ten thousand pounds of rice to every acre. Such a result says a great deal for their rural morals. While occupied in making the earth yield so plentifully, they have no time for evil thoughts or actions. A moralist has said, " There can be no cultivation without public order. Justice is begotten of the furrow. Ceres, who at Thebes and at Athens brought men together and made the laws, is the reflecting mind of men who till the soil."t How could * Simon, Report of the Acclimatization Society, March, 1869. f Idem. Hosted by G00gle 280 THE YELLOW KACE. Chinese agriculture be possible without a system of law, when for the success of its rice fields it is so - dependent on water, which is so easily cut off, for the very essence of its fruitful- ness. The uninterrupted distribution of its waters, in the midst of such an immense rural population, is a symptom of great honesty and fairness among the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire. Thus we see that patience, gentleness, justice and benevolence are the predominant Chinese qualities. The Chinese have been often reproached with being atheists ; but the devotion of labour, the purifications and the atonements to which they submit at the smallest warning from Heaven, free them from this reproach. The Bonzes, the priests of the Buddhist faith, are treated by the Chinese with great respect. If this nation is not really a very religious one, at least it venerates and respects the ministers of religion. Fig. 126 shows the usual dress of the Bonzes. Education is widely spread in China; schools abound there. Chinese literature, without possessing very numerous works worthy of remembrance, has produced a good deal worthy of esteem. The Theatre is a recreation much sought after by the people and by the educated classes. We will make a few extracts on these points from the travels of M. de Bourboulon, edited by M. Poussielgue, which we have already quoted : " Their Book of Bites," says M. Poussielgue, " directs that the education of the child of wealthy parents shall commence from the hour even of its birth, and bids the mother take great precautions in choosing its nurses, whom it only tolerates. A child is weaned the moment it can lift its hand to its mouth. At six years of age the elementary principles of arith- metic and geography are taught him; at seven he is separated from his mother and sisters, and no longer allowed to take meals with them ; at eight the usages of politeness are instilled into him ; the following year he is taught the astrological calendar ; at ten he is sent to a public school, where the master teaches him to read and write and to calculate ; between the ages of thirteen and fifteen he receives music lessons and sings moral maxims instead of his hymns ; at fifteen come gymnastics, the use of arms, and riding ; finally at twenty years of age, if he is considered worthy Hosted by G00gle Hosted by GoOgle silk garments and furs; lie is also generally married at this The Chinese schoolmasters (fig. 127) are rejected men of 126.— CHINESE BONZE, srs who have not succeeded in passing the examinations for I employment. They make their scholars call out their ons in a loud voice, and seem to have long ^ta^flQ^fgleiated valnp of thp fivstprn nf mutual instruction. Thev chastise 282 THE YELLOW RACE. them heavy blows on the hands and on the back. Moral penalties are also inflicted; a writing fastened to his back holds up the idle schoolboy to public contempt. The poorest class of children are taught gratuitously in the schools. " The importance attached by the Chinese to the writing, the reading, the grammar, and the thorough knowledge of their lan- guage, springs from its inherent difficulties. " The ancient Chinese writing was ideographic, that is to say, it represented objects by drawn characters, similar to the Egyptian system of hieroglyphics, instead of being phonetic, that is, com- posed of signs corresponding with the sounds of the spoken lan- guage. Their primitive characters, two hundred and fourteen in number, were rough figures imperfectly representing material objects. Ideographical writing, the use of which by semi- barbarous peoples is easily explained, must be rather awkward for civilized men desiring to express abstract ideas. The Chinese have ingeniously modified their characters, so as to render them capable of satisfying the wants of their growing civilization. Anger was represented by a heart under a bond, a sign of slavery ; friendship by two pearls exactly alike ; history, by a hand hold- ing the emblem of equity. As it was soon found that these ingenious figures were no longer sufficient, they were combined in an infinite number of ways ; they were altered and multiplied to such an extent, that it takes all the science of an old man of letters to recognize the designs of the primitive writing in the present characters, which are more than forty thousand in number. It is in this way that their modern writing was gradually formed, an emblematic writing which does not correspond with the spoken language, the one solitary exception to the rule among all civilized nations. " It is therefore easily to be understood that to read and write the Chinese language is a science exacting severe study from natives of the country, as well as from foreigners : besides, even its grammatical rules vary very much. There are three kinds of style : the ancient or sublime style, used in the old canonical books ; the academical style, which is adopted for official and literary documents ; and the common style. " The Chinese attach much importance to an elegant hand- writing, a clever caUigrapher, or to use their own expression, a clever brush, is worthy of their admiration. Captain Bouvier and Hosted by G00gle a visit to Tchong-louen, one of the leading officials of Peking ; son, a mandarin with the blue button, a young man of twenty- >, and already father of a child — that is to say of a son, for girls 127.— CHINESE SCHOOLMASTER. not count for anything — was present in the reception-room, hong-louen, wishing to give an idea of his son^b^SaDO^teis ac- rmlisVimpTit.fi +.n Viig viQitnra can! fn\* a larrfA P.nTt.C%Crt\ in whif^li 284 THE YELLOW BACK showed it to theni with as much pride as if it had been the certificate of some noble action or a literary work. The rooms of every house contain similar cartoons, hung upon their walls as we in Europe hang paintings. " The appearance of Chinese writing is very odd ; the cha- racters are placed one under the other in vertical lines, and run from right to left ; in a word, on this point as in many others, the Chinese proceed in a manner diametrically opposed to ours. The position in which the characters are placed is besides very important; for instance, the Emperor's name must be written with two letters higher than the others, to omit this would be to commit treason. Everybody is familiar with Chinese or Indian ink. It is with this substance, diluted in water and used with a brush, that the Chinese trace the letters of their writing, holding their hands perpendicularly, instead of placing them horizontally, on the paper. " Their spoken language is much less difficult ; it is composed of monosyllables, the union of which, in an infinite number of ways, expresses every possible idea. I must not forget the accents which give a difference of tone and expression to the mono- syllabic roots. The language of the south differs sufficiently from that of the north to prevent the natives from understanding one another without the assistance of the brush. Moreover, every province has its particular dialect. " In spite of the difficulties presented by the reading and writ- ing of the Chinese character, China is doubtless the land in which primary instruction is most widely spread. Schools are found even in the smallest hamlets whose rustics deprive themselves of some of their gains, in order to pay a schoolmaster. It is very seldom you meet with an entirely uneducated Chinese. The workmen and the peasants are capable of writing their own letters, reading the government bills and proclamations, and making notes of their daily business. Teaching in the primary schools has for its basis, the San-tse-king, a sacred book attributed to a disciple of Confucius, which sums up in a hundred and sixty-eight lines all acquired knowledge and science. This little encyclopaedia, properly explained and commented on by the teacher, suffices to give Chinese children a taste for positive knowledge, and even to give them the desire of acquiring a wider education. There are also colleges in the large towns where the children of the Hosted by G00gle 286 THE YELLOW EACE. men of letters and of the mandarins receive a complete educa- tion. Such among others is the Imperial College at Peking. " The citizens of the Celestial Empire enjoy thorough liberty of the press, but at their own risk and peril. The government, which has no right to forbid any publication, revenges itself after- wards by inflicting the bastinado on the authors of the pamphlets and the virulent satires that daily appear attacking it. A great quantity of small portable printing-presses exists among private individuals who both use and abuse them. There is no country in the world where the walls are so thickly covered with bills and advertisements. " The Chinese have practised the typographical art from time immemorial ; but as their alphabet is composed of more than forty thousand letters, they could not make use of moveable type ; they restricted themselves therefore to carving on a piece of hard board the characters they required, to wetting these characters with ink and to striking off a number of copies, by applying different sheets of paper to the board. Their binders, in opposition to ours, make these leaves up into a volume by fastening them together by their edges. A note in the preface generally mentions the place where the boards that printed the first edition of the work have been deposited. " There are in Peking several daily papers, amongst others the Official Gazette, a government print, the subscription for which is a piastre quarterly. This print, published in pamphlet shape, is a rectangular publication containing a dozen pages, with a like- ness of the philosopher Meng-tsen on the cover. It contains a summary of all public matters, and all leading events, the peti- tions and memorials addressed to the Emperor, his decrees, the edicts of the viceroys of the provinces, judicial ceremonies and letters of pardon, the custom-house tariffs, the court circular, the news of the day, fires, crimes, &c, and finally the incidents, fortunate or unfortunate, of the war against the rebel Tae-pings. It even acknowledges the Imperial defeats, a piece of frank- ness worthy of notice by the official organs of Europe and America. " The Chinese have a traditional and quasi-religious respect for the preservation of all printed and written papers ; they are care- fully collected and burnt when read, so as to put them beyond the reach of profanation. It is even asserted that societies exist who Hosted by G00gle SINAIC BRANCH. " 287 pay porters to go from street to street with enormous baskets to pick up fragments. These new kind of rag- gatherers are paid for saving the waifs and strays of human thought. "Art like literature has been carried to some extent in an utili- tarian and manufacturing sense. But imaginative art, the ideally beautiful, is a thing a Chinese does not understand. " While acknowledging the skill with which the Chinese have written on social economy, on philosophy, on history, and on all moral and political science based on experience and logic, we must note the scarcity of their purely literary works. It must not however, be concluded that China, unlike every civilized country, does not possess plenty of poets, novelists and dramatic authors ; but their little esteemed and badly remunerated productions are ephemeral. To-day an ode, something appropriate to the moment, is written, it is recited or played in the midst of applause, and to-morrow nothing remains of it. " Theatrical propensities are nevertheless very strongly de- veloped among the Chinese, and the cause of this forgetfulness, this neglect is that they are ashamed of attaching too much importance to a futile amusement. The managers of the theatres are generally the authors of the pieces they represent, or at any rate they modify them according to the exigencies of the actors and the suitability of the costumes. There are no permanent or authorized theatres in Peking: the government "only allows their temporary construction in the open spaces of the town for a limited period during public festivals. Theatrical representations, however, take place in many of the tea-houses, which are analogous to our music-halls, and in nearly all the dwellings of the wealthy, who, every time they hire a company of actors to celebrate a family anniversary, take care, with an eye to popularity, to allow the public free ingress into that part of their house reserved for the auditorium." "I have just been present," relates M. Treves, "at a theatrical representation given by the secretary of state Tchong- louen in the gardens of his palace in the Tartar town, in honour of the new year. The theatre was something like those con- structed in Paris on the esplanade of the Invalides on the occasion of the Emperor's fete : it was an ample quadrilateral building in the shape of a Greek temple, supported on either side by four columns painted in sky-blue, golden, and scarlet stripes, and with A / ?lc / / 288 THE YELLOW RACE. a proscenium covered with carvings and decorations. The stage, much wider than it was deep, was a wooden platform raised about six feet above the level of the rest of the building. An immense screen shuts off the back passages, where the actors dress them- selves and get themselves up. There was no scenery, only two or three chairs and a carpet. The circular hall reserved for the audience, very large in proportion to the stage, was paved with white marble ; it was not roofed in, and the only shelter for the spectators was the shade cast by the large trees of the garden (fig- 129). " We took our places on a reserved platform, placed expressly for us in front of the stage ; on either side were boxes with bamboo blinds whence the wives of our host and those of his guests looked on at the play : to prevent their being seen, they wore veils of silk net. The guests of lower rank were seated in the first row, on chairs grouped round small tables capable of accommodating four or five people. Behind them I could see a swarm of human heads ; these were the public who crowded and pressed together to enjoy the spectacle for which they were in- debted to the munificence of the illustrious Tchong-louen. At Peking as in Paris, the common people willingly undergo for the sake of amusement the fatigue of standing, without any means of resting themselves, for hours together. A few indulgent fathers had two or three children perched upon their backs, and upon their shoulders, but I could not see a single woman. " At a signal given from our dais, the orchestra, placed at one wing of the stage, and consisting of two flutes, a drum and a harp, began a charivari which took the place of an overture ; then the screen opened, and the actors all appeared in their ordinary dress, and after bowing so deeply that their foreheads touched the ground, their leader advanced to the edge of the stage and com- menced a pompous recital of the dramas they were going to perform.,, Here the writer gives a description of the pieces represented, which were kinds of allegories and historical pageants. Besides these regular theatrical representations, there are in Peking many acrobatic troops, male and female rope-dancers, and itinerant . circuses. Marionettes, absolutely identical with those in Europe, are seen in China. Which nation is their inventor ? The name by which Hosted by G00gle oises, seems to prove that their origin is Chinese. 129.— A CHTNESE PLAY. Hosted by G00gle 290 THE YELLOW EACE. little stage is placed on his shoulders and rises above his head, while his hands work without revealing the mechanical means he uses to impart the movements of players to these tiny automatons. We will end our account of the Chinese with a glance at their administration of justice and their judicial forms. We again piote from M. Poussielgue : " There is a direct relation in China between the penal judicial code and family organization. If the Emperor is the father and the mother of his subjects, the magistrates who represent him are also the father and mother of those they rule over. Every out- rage against the law is an outrage upon the family. Impiety, one of the greatest crimes foreseen and punished by the law, is really nothing but a want of respect for parents. This is how the penal code defines impiety. ' He is impious who insults his nearest relations, or he who brings an action against them, or who does not go into mourning for them, or who does not venerate their memory, or he who is wanting in the attention due to those to whom he owes his existence, by whom he has been educated, or by whom he has been protected and assisted.' The punishments incurred for the crime of impiety are terrible ; we intend to speak of them later. " In thus carrying the feeling of what is due to family ties into the region of politics, the Chinese legislators have created a governmental machinery of prodigious power, which has lasted for thirty centuries, and which, neither the numerous revolutions and dynastic changes, neither the antagonism of the northern and southern races, neither the immense territorial extent of the empire, neither religious scepticism, nor finally the selfish creed of materialism developed to excess by a decayed and stationary civilization, have been able to destroy, or even seriously to disturb, " Amongst the supreme courts that sit at Peking, is the Court of Appeal or Cassation (Ta-li-sse). Next to it come the assizes held in the chief towns of each province, and presided over by a special magistrate bearing the title of Commissary of the Court of Offences. A second magistrate of inferior rank exercises the duties of public accuser at these assizes. In towns of second and third importance inferior tribunals exist which have but one judge, the mandarin or the sub-prefect of the department. The Hosted by G00gle e crime deserves a greater chastisement, the prisoner is sent the assizes held in the chief town of his province : if this bunal sentences him to death, the proceedings must be sent to e Court of Appeal at Peking, where a final decision is pro- mnced at the autumn sittings. Thus no provincial tribunal has 130. — A CHINESE JUNK. ie power of sentencing a prisoner to death ; although in special ises, such as an armed insurrection, a governor can be invested ith extreme power, similar to that conferred in Europe by artial law. Finally there are in every part of the empire, courts ' information where the sub-prefect, in the co}^gl|§y<^^4R»rterly rcuit, has to hear what is taking place, decide differences, and 292 THE YELLOW KACE. has fallen into disuse in consequence of the relaxation of govern- mental authority and the carelessness of the mandarins. " The result of this judicial organization is that the sub- prefect is invested with the entire correctional power within the limits of his civil jurisdiction, a very faulty state of things, which has been the cause of enormous abuses. " There are no advocates in China, and, as has been seen, very few judges. Consequently the mode of administering justice is very summary ? and the guarantees enjoyed by a prisoner amount to nothing. His friends or relations can, it is true, plead in his favour, but it is of no use, unless it happens to suit the mandarin at the head of the tribunal. As for the witnesses, they are liable to be flogged with a rattan, accordingly as their evidence is agreeable or not. Generally speaking, the long-winded wit- nesses are the most disagreeable to the mandarin who has a mass of matters to settle, and whose time does not allow him to enter into petty details. In point of fact the prisoner's acquittal or con- demnation depends upon the subaltern officers of the court, who prepare the proceedings in a manner favourable to the prisoners or the reverse, accordingly as they have received more or less money from his friends. " If there is something to be praised in Chinese jurisprudence, the way in which the punishments are earned out is on the contrary shocking. Man is considered as a being sensitive only to physical agony and to death; Chinese legislators have not sought to restrain him by his honour, by his pride in himself, nor even by his self interest. The penal code consists mainly of the bastinado, inflicted with a thick bamboo cane, with the thick end or the thin one, and consisting of from ten up to two hundred blows, as the crime is trifling or serious, or as the object stolen is of little or of great value. The bastinado is given immediately in presence of the tribunal. The most common punishments, are, after the bastinado, the cangue, the pillory, imprisonment and perpetual exile into Tartary for mandarins who have committed political offences. We have mentioned that the High Court of Appeal alone can decide on a death sentence ; but the sufferings inflicted by the orders of the inferior tribunals are so horrible, the executioners are so ingenious in varying the tortures without causing death, the management of the prisons is so hateful, and finally a man sentenced to the cangue, the pillory, or the cage is Hosted by G00gle 131. — CHINESE BBGGAJSS. stedbyLjOOQl 294 THE YELLOW RACE. exposed to such horrible anguish, that when the death-warrant arrives from Peking, the unfortunate wretch goes cheerfully to the scaffold, as. if his last day were really the day of his deliver- ance. " Capital punishment, horribly varied in bygone days, is now only inflicted in three ways ; strangulation, decapitation, and the slow death by stabbing. " Strangulation is effected by means of a silken cord that two executioners pull at each end, or by an iron collar tightened by a screw, very much like the garote at present used in Spain. Stran- gulation by the silken cord, is reserved for the princes of the Imperial family ; the iron collar is used to destroy, in the silence of the prison, those whose death it is desired to conceal. " In public, the only mode of execution is decapitation, applied to all vulgar crimes. The preparations for this mode of death are very simple, and its action very rapid, owing to the temper and weight of the swords, and the skill of those who wield them. The guillotine never attained the lightning-Hke rapidity of the satellites of the dreaded Yeh, the viceroy from whom the Anglo- French delivered the province of Canton ; they could strike off a hundred heads in a few moments. Their master used to boast that their skill was derived from a hundred thousand subjects of experiment he had furnished them with in less than two years. " The slow death of stabbing is inflicted for the crimes of trea- son, parricide, and incest. The preparation for this mode of punishment must double the miseries of the condemned convict. Securely tied to a post, his feet and hands fastened with ropes, his head is placed in a kind of pillory, while the magistrate dele- gated to witness the execution of the sentence, draws from a covered basket a knife, on the handle of which is written the part of the body in which it is to be inserted. This horrible torture is continued until chance selects the heart, or some other vital part. We hasten to add, that generally the convict's friends purchase the connivance of the magistrate, who takes care to draw at the very first venture, the knife intended for the mortal blow. "It is little wonder that the Chinese accustomed to such penalties, and to the hideous and frequent spectacles they afford, should early become inured to the idea of death, and that even Hosted by G00gle passive courage which enables them to meet it with calmness, many of these poor people, death is only the welcome termi- on of a miserable and painful existence. I had the curiosity to be present at one of the last sittings of Court, and at my request a place wras reserved for me, wrhere >uld see without being seen. 132. — CHINESE PUNISHMENT. : The hall of justice had nothing remarkable in an architectural se. It was surrounded by a lofty wall, nearly as high as the icipal edifice. The first court is enclosed by buildings used prisons. I saw some boxes made of enormously thick bamboo s placed at a little distance apart, in which prisoners were shut during the night. f In this court a crowd of wretched creatures with emaciated bs, livid faces, and barely covered with a few loathsome rags, sweltering in the sun. Some were fastened by the foot with " nOStGQ Dy V_J vJv/V Iv, 9 iron chain to a weight so heavy, that they were unable to stn* shackled together, so that they could only move about in si jumps, which must have been very painful to judge by the exp: sion of their faces. " One of these prisoners had his left hand and right foot tened in a board a few inches in width ; a policeman dragged ] forward by an iron chain fastened to a heavy collar clasped roi 133.— CHINESE FUXISHMENTS. his neck, whilst another flogged him from behind, to make J go on. This wretched creature crept along with great diffici on the leg that was still free, his body bent double in the n painful position (fig. 132). " In another corner of the court, other prisoners were unc going the punishment of the cangue. I also saw a painful si£ a thief buried alive in a wooden cage. " Imagine a heavy tub upside down, under which human being is made to crouch; his ^§j|^(^^J{|s hands slipped through three round holes, made so excessively tight t h liim. When he wishes to rest, he can only crouch upon his jes in a most fatiguing position ; when he wishes to take exer- >, he can hardly lift the weight of the tub (fig. 133). One 134.— A CHINESE COURT OF JUSTICE. nks from attempting to realize the existence of a man con- ined to a month of such a punishment. The miserable sufferer tw, being unable to either eat or drink by M^Pi^D^fe w*fe undertaken to heln him : she was standing close to the case 298 THE YELLOW RACE. pushed into his mouth with chop-sticks. From time to time, she wiped with an old piece of cloth the livid countenance of her husband, which was running down with perspiration, whilst her little child, slung to her back with a strap, smiled in its utter ignorance of misery, and played with the curls of its mother's flowing hair. This sight affected me deeply, and I hurried on to avoid making a protest against such atrocity. " The entrance to the hall of justice is embellished with an ex- ternal portico, on which some nrythological scenes are painted in glowing colours. "Presently the folding gates opened with a loud creaking, and admitted the crowd ' that had gathered in the first court. At the end of the large hall on a raised dais, I perceived Tchong-louen in his ceremonial costume, surrounded with his councillors and the subaltern officers of justice. In front of him, on a table covered with a red cloth, were the records of criminal proceedings, brushes and saucers for the Indian ink, a bookcase containing the codes and the books of jurisprudence that might have to be consulted, and a large case full of painted and numbered pieces of wood. Behind the mandarin stood his fan-bearer, and two children richly dressed in silk, who held over his head the insignia of his dignity. On the twelve stone steps that ascended to the dais were posted, first, the executioner, conspicuous for his wire hat, and his red dress. He leant his right hand upon an enormous rattan cane, while his left wielded a curved sword ; then came his assistants and the jailors carrying different instruments of torture which they clashed noisily together, whilst continuing at measured intervals to utter horrible yells, intended to throw terror into the minds of the prisoners. All round the hall stood police soldiers, in the red tasselled Man- chu cap, armed with a short spear, and with two swords sheathed in the same scabbard. Eed draperies inscribed with various sentences, and lanterns representing different monsters were hung around the wralls. In short, the whole scene was got up to impress the eager and curious mob, which crowded thickly beneath the overhanging side galleries, with the imposing spectacle of the symbols of justice, as represented in fig. 134. " I witnessed from the j)lace reserved for me behind the judg- ment seat the trial of half a score of robbers. I will not attempt to describe the scenes of torture that followed their repeated denials of guilt. When a prisoner persisted in asserting his Hosted by G00gle WVliVV * IUV Jwvtt)x r* :s or counters lying in the ease on the table before him, and hich was marked the number of blows or the description of ire to be inflicted. This was immediately earned into effect 135, — CHINESE SOLDIERS. ;r the eyes of the judge and registrars who made careful notes le half avowals uttered by the victim in the midst of his ims of agony." Hosted by Google *. KJ army. General Cousin Montauban, since Count de Palikao, numbers of them to pieces, after one or two skirmishes, in w the Chinese fled as hard as they could the very moment perceived a uniform. 136.— CHINESE TROOPER. A nation of four hundred million inhabitants was conquerec six thousand Frenchmen, The unwoifclfajG Dowardice of Chinese explain the fact that thev have alwavs been an easv ig their uniforms. Fig. 135 represents that of their infantry, lg. 136 that of their mounted troops. le real army of the Chinese nation is the care with which it 3 itself aloof from foreigners, and the manner in which it ds them access to its territory. Retrenched behind its wall, happy in its own way and does without soldiers. The system s a good one, since it has succeeded for so many centuries. 137- — THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA. ie wall of China, which rigorously excludes all strangers from mpire, is no mere metaphor. It is a solid reality. Fig. 137 a view of the Great Wall taken near Peking, ie Marquis de Moges, an attache of the embassy when M. was French Ambassador in China, has wittily summed up, s account of his travels, the contrast between Chinese and ;ern civilization. " In China," he says, " the magnetic needle :s to the south ; — the cardinal points are five in number ; — eft hand is the place of honour ; — politeness jraqA&B8)gtei to ityyiit Viparl nrk\TCkr*ckA in -fT-io TwflcfiTi/^o /vf a cnnpmrnv f\V in that. 302 THE YELLOW RACE. left ; — fruit is eaten at the beginning of dinner and soup at its close ; — at school, children learn their lessons aloud and repeat theru all together ; — their silence is punished as a sign of idleness ; — and finally, a title of nobility conferred upon a man for some signal service rendered to the state, does not descend to his posterity, but goes backwards and ennobles his ancestors." The Japanese Family. Japan, consisting of a large island, that of Nipon, and seven other smaller islands, of which the principal are Yesso, Sitkokf, and Kiousiou, is inhabited by an industrious and intelligent people. The Japanese, whilst resembling the Chinese in many points, differ from them in many others, and are far superior in a moral point of view to the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire. The written character of Japan is the same as that of China, and its literature is not a distinctive one, but entirely Chinese. The two creeds of Buddha and of Confucius prevail in Japan as they do in China. The worship of these creeds is carried on in both countries in similar pagodas, and their ministers are the same bonzes with shaven heads and long gray robes. The buildings and the junks of both nations are identical. Their food is the same, a diet of vegetables, principally rice, and fish, washed down by plenty of tea and spirit. The coolies carry their loads in exactly the same manner in Japan and in China, at Nangasaki and at Peking, and make the streets resound with the same shrill measured cries. The Japanese women wear their hair as the Chinese women used to do before they adopted the fashion of pig- tails, and the townspeople in Yeddo, as in Nankin, seclude them- selves in their houses, which are impervious both . to heat and cold. But the resemblance stops there. The Japanese, a warlike and feudal nation, would be indignant at being confounded with the servile and crafty inhabitants of the Celestial Empire, who despise war, and whose sole aim is commerce. A Chinaman begins to laugh when he is reproached with running away from the enemy, or when he is convicted of having told a lie ; such matters give him little concern. A Japanese sets a different value on his life and on his honour ; he is warlike and haughty. A Japanese soldier always confronts his enemy. To deprive him of Hosted by G00gle SINAIC BRANCH. 303 his sword is to dishonour hirn, and he will only consent to take it back stained with the life-blood of his conqueror. The duello, unknown in China, is carried out in a terrible fashion among the Japanese. The islander of Nipon disembowels himself with a thrust of his own sword, and dares his adversary to follow his example. The Chinese race live in a state of disgusting and perpetual filth ; every Japanese, on the contrary, without distinc- tion of rank or fortune, takes a warm bath every other day. Of a jovial and frank disposition, and of great intelligence, they are always desirous of knowing what is going on in the world, and ever anxious to learn ; whilst the Chinese, on the other hand, shut themselves up behind their classic wall, and recoil from everything that is strange to them. These characteristics show that the Japanese are a far superior race to the Chinese. A few peculiarities, more especially found in the inhabitants of the sea coasts, the fishermen and the sailors, separate the Japanese physical type from that of the Chinese. The former are small, vigorous, active men with heavy jaws, thick lips, and a small nose, flat at the bridge, but yet with an aquiline profile. Their hair is somewhat inclined to be curly. The Japanese are generally of middle height, They have a large head, rather high shoulders, a broad chest, a long waist, fleshy hips, slender short legs, and small hands and feet. The full face of those who have a very retreating forehead and particularly prominent cheek-bones is rather square than oval in shape. Their eyes are more projecting than those of Europeans, and are rather more veiled by the eyelid. The general effect is not that of the Chinese or Mongolian type. The Japanese have a larger head than is customary with individuals of these races, their face is. longer, their features are more regular, and their nose is more prominent and better shaped. They have all thick, sleek, dark black hair, and a considerable quantity of it on their faces. The colour of their skin varies according to the class they belong to, from the sallow sunburnt complexion of the inhabitants of southern Europe to the deep tawny hue of that of the native of Java. The most general tint is a sallow brown, but none remind you of the yellow skin of the Chinese. The women are faker than the men. Amongst the upper and even the middle classes, some are to be met with with a perfectly white complexion. Hosted by G00gle European type. Their half-veiled eyes, and a disfiguring holl in the breast, which is noticeable in them in the flower of tl youth, even in the handsomest figures. Both men and women have black eyes, and white sound tec 138.— JAPANESE, Their countenance is mobile and possesses great variety expression. It is the custom for their married women to blac. their teeth. The national Japanese costume^ is a kind of o dressing gown (fig. 138), which is made ttst<&raeftft8& and a li n r j.1_~ Ti- ♦V* n 4-/v Uiar knot at the back. 'lie Japanese wear no linen, but they bathe, as we have said, •y other day. The women wear an under-garinent of red silk >e. i summer, the peasants, the fishermen, the mechanics and the ian coolies follow then* calling in a state of almost complete ity, and the women only wear a skirt from the waist down- ISO. — A JAPANESE FATHER. 3. When it rains they cover themselves with capes made of , or oiled paper, and with hats made, shield shape, of bark. In winter the men of the lower classes wear, ith their kirimon or dressing-gown, a tight fiting vest and of trousers of blue cotton stuff, and the women one or wadded cloaks. The middle classes always wear a vest and jrs out of doors. [8. 138, 139, 140, and 141 represent different Jftpafeg^glpes. eir costnme erpnpmllTr r""flRo».<3 ««irr ;« +!>,•* r»n«^«i n-e ,,-i^u :* only wear tneir costlier dresses on ine occasions 01 uieu gumj court or when they pay ceremonial visits. All classes wear li; socks and sandals of plaited straw, or wooden shoes fastened a string looped round the big toe. They all, on their retun their own house, or when entering that of a stranger, take their shoes, and leave them at the threshold. a^~' 140.— JAPANESE SOLDIEK. The floors of Japanese dwellings are covered with matt: which take the place of every other kind of furniture. A Japanese has but one wife. The Japanese have a taste for science and art, and are foi music and pageants. Their manufactures are largely develc They make all sorts of fine stuffs, wttfkvMMf in iron J il. * J , v,»* ^v,,.^ i» uivmcu ueween an Hereditary and despotic jrnor, the Taicoon, and a spiritual chief, the Mikado. he creed of Buddhism, that of the Kami*, and the doctrines Confucius equally divide the religious tendencies of the inese. 141. — JAPANESE NOBLE. will give a few details on the interesting inhabitants of , from the account of a visit to that country Wten^ — „T 308 THE YELLOW KACE. M. Humbert was present at the ceremonies which took place on the occasion of an official visit paid by the Taicoon to the Mikado, and he gives the following account of it :— "While I was in Japan, it happened that the Taicoon paid a visit of courtesy to the Mikado. " This was an extraordinary event. It made a great sensation, inspired the brush of several native artists, and gave resident foreigners a chance of seeing a little more clearly into the reciprocal relation of the two powers of the empire. Then- respective position is really one of considerable interest. _ " In the first place, the Mikado has over his temporal rival the advantage of birth and the prestige of his sacred character. Grandson of the Sun, he continues the traditions of the gods, the demi-gods, the heroes, and the hereditary sovereigns who have reigned over Japan in an uninterrupted succession since the creation of the empire of the eight great islands. Supreme head of their religion, under whatever form it may present itself to the people, he officiates as the sovereign pontiff of the ancient national creed of the Kamis. At the summer solstice, he offers sacrifices to the earth ; at the winter solstice, to heaven. A god is specially deputed to watch over his precious destiny; from the shrine of the temple he inhabits at the top of Mount Kamo, in the neighbourhood of the Mikado's residence, this deity watches night and day over the Dairi. And finally at the death of a Mikado, his name, which it has been ordained shall be inscribed in the temples of his ancestors, is engraved at Kioto, in the temple of Hatchiman ; and at Isye, in the temple of the Sun. " It is indubitably from heaven that the Mikado, both theo- cratic emperor and hereditary sovereign, derives the authority which he exercises over his people. Though now-a-days, it must be acknowledged, he scarcely knows how to employ it. However, from time to time it seems proper to him to confer pompous titles, which are entirely honorary, on a few old feudal nobles who have deserved well of the altar. Sometimes also he allows himself the luxury of openly protesting against those acts of the temporal power, which seem to infringe on his prerogatives. This is the course he took with special reference to the treaties made by the Taicoon with several western nations ; it is true that he finally sanctioned them, but that was because he could not help himself. Hosted by G00gle SINAIC BRANCH. 309 "Now the Taicoon, as everybody knows, is the fortunate successor of a common usurper. In fact, the founders of his dynasty, subjects of the then Mikado, robbed their lord and master of his army, his navy, his lands, and his treasure, as if ihey were desirous of depriving him of any subject of earthly anxiety. " Possibly the Mikado was too ready to fall in with their plans. The offer of a two-wheeled chariot drawn by an ox, for his daily drive in the parks of his residence, doubtless a considerable privilege in a country where nobody uses a conveyance, should not have persuaded him to sacrifice the manly exercises of archery, hawking, and hunting the stag or wild boar. He might likewise, without making himself absolutely invisible, have spared himself the fatigue of the ceremonious receptions where, motion- less on a raised platform, he accepts the silent adoration of his courtiers prostrated at his feet. The Mikado, now, they say, only communicates with the exterior world through the medium of the female attendants intrusted with the care of his person. It is they who dress and feed him, clothing him daily in a fresh costume, and serving his meals on table utensils fresh every morn- ing from the manufactory which for centuries has monopolized their supply. His sacred feet never touch the ground ; his countenance is never exposed in broad daylight to the common gaze ; in a word, the Mikado must be kept pure from all contact with the elements, the sun, the moon, the earth, mankind, and himself. " It was necessary that the interview should take place at Koto, the holy town which the Mikado is never allowed to leave. His palace, and the ancient temples of his family are his sole personal possessions there, the town itself being under the rule of the tem- poral emperor ; but the latter dedicates its revenues to the ex- penses of the spiritual sovereign, and condescends to keep up a permanent garrison within its walls for the protection of the pontifical throne. " The preliminaries on both sides having been carried out, a proclamation announced the day when the Taicoon intended to issue forth from his capital, the immense and populous modern town of Yeddo, the head-quarters of the political and civil govern- ment of the empire, the seat of the Naval and Military Schools, of the Interpreters' College, and of the Academy of Medicine and Philosophy. Hosted by G00gle 310 THE YELLOW RACE. " He was preceded by a division of his army equipped in the European manner, and, while these picked troops, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, were marching on Kioto by land along the great Imperial highway of the Toka'ido, the fleet received orders to set sail for the inland sea. The temporal sovereign himself, em- barked in the splendid steamer, the Lycemoon, which he had pur- chased of the firm of Dent and Co. for five hundred thousand dollars. Six other steamers escorted him; the Kandimarrah , notorious for its voyage from Yeddo to San-Francisco to convey the Japanese embassy sent to the United States; the sloop of war, the Soembing, a gift from the King of the Netherlands ; the yacht Emperor, a present from Queen Victoria ; and some frigates built in America and in Holland to orders given by the embassies of 1859 and 1862. Manned entirely by Japanese crews, this squadron left the bay of Yeddo, doubled Cape Sagami and the promontory of Idsou, crossed the Linschoten straits, and coasting along the eastern shores of the island of Awadsi, dropped its anchors in the Hiogo roadstead, where the Taicoon disembarked amid larboard and starboard salutes. " His state entry into Kioto took place a few days later, with no military parade but that of his own troops, as the Mikado possesses neither soldiers nor artillery, with the exception of a body-guard of archers, recruited from the families of his kinsmen or of the feudal nobility. Indeed, he can hardly afford even on this moderate scale, the expenses of his court; and his own revenue being insufficient, he is obliged to accept with one hand an income the Taicoon consents to pay him out of his own private purse, and with the other, the amounts that the brethren of a few monastic orders yearly collect for him, from village to village, in even the furthest provinces of the empire. Another circumstance that assists him to support his rank, is the disinterested abnega- tion of many of his high officials. Some of them serve him with no other remuneration but the free use of the costly regulation dresses of the old imperial wardrobe. On their return homer after doffing their court costume, these haughty gentlemen are not ashamed to seat themselves at a weavers' loom or an em- broidery frame. More than one piece of the rich silk productions, of Kioto, the handiwork of which is so much admired, has issued from some of the princely houses, whose names are inscribed in the register of the Kamis. Hosted by G00gle day of the interview, by exhibiting to his royal visitor the stacle of the grand procession of the Dairi. Accompanied by archers, by his household, by his courtiers, and by the whole 142.— JAPANESE PALANQCIX. his pontifical staff, he left his palace by the southern gateway, ich, towards the close of the ninth century, was .decorated by i historical compositions of the celebrated piuiler-poet, Kose 312 THE YELLOW KACE. washed by the Yodogawa, and returned to the castle through the principal streets of the town. " The ancient insignia of his supreme power were carried in state at the head of the procession ; the mirror of his ancestress Izanami, the beautiful goddess who gave birth to the sun in the island of Awadsi; the glorious standard, the long paper streamers of which had waved above the heads of the soldiery of Zinmou the conqueror ; the flaming sword of the hero of Yamato, who overcame the eight-headed hydra to which virgins of princely blood used to be sacrificed ; the seal that stamped the first laws of the empire ; and the cedar wood fan, shaped like a lath and used as a sceptre, which for more than two thousand years has descended from the hands of the dead Mikado to those of his successor. ""I will not stop to describe another part of the pageant, in- tended doubtless to complete and enhance the effect of the rest, namely the banners embroidered with the armorial bearings of all the ancient noble families of the empire. Perhaps they were intended to remind the Taicoon, that, in the eyes of the old terri- torial nobility, he was nothing but a parvenu ; if so, the parvenu could smile complacently at the thought, that the whole of the Japanese grandees, the great as well as the lesser daimios, are, nevertheless, obliged to pass six months of the year, at his Court in Yeddo, and offer him their homage in the midst of the nobles of his own creation. " The most numerous and the most picturesque ranks of the procession were those of the representatives of all the sects who recognise the spiritual supremacy of the Mikado. The dignitaries of the ancient creed of the Kamis are scarcely distinguishable, as to dress, from the high officials of the palace. I have already described their costume, it reminds the spectators that the Japanese possessed originally a religion without a priesthood. Buddhism, on the contrary, which came from China, and rapidly spread throughout the empire, has an immense variety of sects, rites, orders, and brotherhoods. The bonzes and the monks be-, longing to this faith composed in the procession endless ranks of devout-looking individuals, with the tonsure or with entirely shaven heads, some of them uncovered, and some wearing curiously shaped caps, mitres, and hats with wide brims. Some of them earned a crozier in their right hand, others a rosary, others again, Hosted by G00gle SINAIC BRANCH. 313 a fly-brush, a sea-shell, or a holy water sprinkler made of paper. They were dressed in cassocks, surplices, and cloaks of every shape and hue. " Behind them came the household of the Mikado. The pon- tifical body-guard in their full dress, aim beyond everything at elegance. Leaving breast-plates and coats of mail to the men-at- arrus of the Taicoon, they wear a little lacquer-work cap, orna- mented on both sides with rosettes, and a rich silk tunic trimmed with lace edgings. The width of their trousers conceals their feet. They are equipped with a large curved sabre, a bow, and a quiver full of arrows. " Some of the mounted ones had a long riding- whip fastened to their wrist by a coarse silken cord. " A great deal of brutality is too often hidden beneath this imposing exterior. The wildness and the dissipation of the young nobles of the Japanese pontifical court have supplied history with pages recalling the worst period of papal Eome, the days of Caesar Borgia. Conrad Kramer, the envoy of the Dutch West Indian islands to the court of Kioto, was allowed to be present in 1626 at a festival held in honour of a visit of the temporal emperor to his spiritual sovereign. He relates that the following day, corpses of women, young girls, and children, who had fallen victims to nocturnal outrages, were found in the streets of the capital. A still larger number of married women and maidens, whom curiosity had attracted to Kioto, were lost by their husbands and parents in the turmoil of the crowded streets, and . were only found a week or a fortnight later, their families being utterly unable to bring their abducers to justice. " Polygamy being a legal institution for the Mikado only, it was perhaps natural for him to make some display of his prero- gative. It costs him sufficiently dear. It is the abyss hidden with flowers that the first usurpers of the imperial power dug for the feet of the successors of Zinmou. It is easy to imagine the cynical smile on the lips of the Taicoon as he saw the long row of the equipages of the Dairi making its appearance. " A pair of black buffaloes, driven by pages in white smocks, were harnessed to each of these cumbrous vehicles which were made of precious woods and glistened with coats of varnish of different tints. They contained the empress and the twelve other legitimate wives of the Mikado seated behind doors of open lattice- Hosted by Go ogle 314 THE YELLOW EACE. work. His favourite concubines, and the fifty ladies of honour of the empress followed close behind, in covered palanquins. " When the Mikado himself leaves his residence, it is always in his pontifical litter. This Utter, fastened on long shafts, and bome by fifty porters in white liveries, can be seen from a long distance off towering above the crowd. It is constructed in the shape of a mikosis, the kind of shrine in which the holy relics of the Kamis are exposed. It may be compared to a garden summer-house, with a cupola roof with bells hanging all round its base. On the top of the cupola there is a ball, and on top of the ball there is a kind of cock couchant on its spurs, with its wings extended and its tail spread : this is meant as a representation of the mythological bird known in China and Japan under the name of Foo. " This portable summer-house, glistening all over with gold, is so very hermetically closed that it is difficult to believe that any body could be put inside it. A proof, however, that it is really used for the high purpose attributed to it, is that on each side of it are seen walking the women who are the domestic attendants of the Mikado. They alone have the privilege of surrounding his person. To the rest of his court as well as to his people, the Mikado remains an invisible, dumb, and inapproachable divinity. He kept up this character even in the interview with the Taicoon. " Amongst the group of buildings that constitute the right of Kioto to be styled the pontifical residence, there is one that might be called the Temple of Audience, for it is constructed in the sacred style of architecture peculiar to the religious edifices of the faith of the Kamis, and it bears like them the name of Mia. Adjoining the apartments inhabited by the Mikado, it stands at the bottom of a large court paved and planted with trees, in which are marshalled the escorts of honour on high and solemn festivals. "A detachment of officers of the artillery and of the body- guards of the Taicoon (fig. 143), and several groups of dignitaries of the Mikado's suite drew up successively in this open space. " The women had retired to their own apartments. " Deputations of bonzes and different monastic orders occu- pied the corridors along the surrounding walls. Soldiers of the Taicoonal garrison of Kioto, posted at intervals, kept the line of the avenue which led to the broad steps reaching up to the front _ ' /g - Sfe*.- ^k\ -^rsMc- j; * i 1 i'j»l'.f« fTy flfr ^-^T^^^ 3 * L^iife^ grfz m - Jf~ s -t I r<» ■§*p* ^^ -^^: 14&— THE TAICOOX's GUARPS. Hosted by GoOgle ■ the building. Up this avenue the courtiers of the MiKado, clad 316 THE YELLOW RACE. cally ascended the steps, and placed themselves right and left on the verandah with their faces turned towards the still closed doors . of the great throne room. Before taking up their position they took care to lift the trains of their mantles and throw them over the balustrade of the verandah, so as to display to the crowd the <3oats of arms which were embroidered on these portions of their garments. The whole verandah was soon curtained with this brilliant kind of tapestiy. " Presently the sound of flutes, of sea-shells and of the gongs of the pontifical chapel, proceeding from the left wing of the building, announced that the Mikado was entering the sanctuary. A deep silence fell upon the crowd. An hour passed away in solemn expectation, whilst the preliminaries of the reception were being performed. Suddenly a flourish of trumpets announced the arrival of the Taicoon. He advanced up the avenue on foot and without any escort ; his prime minister, the commanders in chief -of the army and navy, and a few members of the council of the Court of Yeddo, walked at a respectful distance behind him. He stopped for a moment at the foot of the great staircase, and immediately the doors of the temple slowly opened, gliding from right to left in their grooves. He then ascended the steps, and the spectacle which had held in suspense the expectation of the multitude at last unveiled itself to their eyes. " A large green awning of cane-bark fastened to the ceiling of the hall, hung within two or three feet of the floor. Through this narrow space, could be perceived a couch of mats and carpets, on which the broad folds of an ample white robe spread them- selves out. This was all that could be seen of the spectacle of the Mikado on his throne. " The chinks in the plaits of the cane awning allowed him to see everything without being seen. Wherever he directed his gaze, he perceived nothing but heads bent before his invisible majesty. One alone remained erect on the summ.it of the stairs of the temple, but it was one crowned with the lofty golden coronet, the royal symbol of the temporal head of the empire. And even he too, the powerful sovereign whose might is boundless, when he had reached the last step, bent his head, and sinking slowly, fell on his knees, stretched his arms forward towards the threshold of the throne-room, and bowed Iris forehead to the very ground. _ complished, the aim of the solemnity was gained. The ncoon had openly prostrated himself at the feet of the ikado. " The interview at Kioto, had for its result two facts. By the 144. — A LA1>Y OF THE COURT. •st, the bending of the knee, the temporal sovereign showed tat he continued to be the traditional obedient son of the high mtiff of the national religion ; but, by the second, that is to say f accepting this act of homage, the theocrati^sgW^^gfermaUy r»oerly enumerated. Now in a numerous family there is no rantee against errors being committed ^the u»eb0^^gxp^ary; nee the inefficiency it is sometimes accused of. Instead of 222 THE YELLOW BACE. for a bonze of the Order of the Great Rosary to set matters right again. " This good man hastens up with his instrument, which is about as big as a good-sized boa-constrictor, and places it in the hands of the family kneeling in a circle, whilst he himself, standing in front of the shrine of the domestic idol, directs operations with a bell and a small hammer. At a given signal, father, mother, and children, intone with the whole force of their lungs the prayers agreed upon. The small and the large beads of the rosary and the strokes of the hammer fall with a cadenced rhythm that inspires them. The rosary ring grows excited, their cries become passionate, their arms and hands work like machinery, the perspiration streams down them, and their bodies get stiff with fatigue. At last the close of the ceremony leaves everybody breathless, exhausted, but radiant with happiness, for the inter- ceding gods must be satisfied ! " Buddhism is a flexible conciliating, insinuating religion, which accommodates itself to the bent and the habits of the most different races. From the very first, the bonzes in Japan managed to get themselves entrusted with some of the shrines and small chapels of the Kamis, in order to protect them in the enclosures of their sanctuaries. They hastened to add to their ceremonies symbols borrowed from the ancient national faith • and in short, for the purpose of better fusing the two creeds, they introduced into their temples, Kamis deities invested with the titbs and attributes of Hindoo divinities, and at the same time, Hindoo gods transformed into Japanese Kamis. There was nothing inadmissible in these exchanges, which were ex- plained in the most natural manner by the dogma of transmigra- tion. Thanks to this combination of the two creeds, which received the name of Rioobou-Sintoo, Buddhism has become the prevalent religion of Japan. " . . . . Within their temples the bonzes officiate at the altar, in the sight of the people, beyond the sanctuary which a veil separates from the crowd. The latter are only directly addressed by them in preaching, and only on the special festivals consecrated to this practice. " They are only allowed to go in procession at certain periods of the year, and then only in the presence of the government officials who superintend public pageants. Hosted by G00gle j. ne pastoral ijoruons 01 tneir auty nave oeen cut aown to narrow limits, that I can only find one word to apply to the „ J/U«A 146. — JAPANESE PAGODA. rrn • i_ Ai. _ 3 — ± Hosted by G00gle 324 THE YELLOW EACE. Japanese of all sects are accustomed to see accompany the last moments of the dying. They arrange the funeral procession, and provide, according to the wishes of the relatives of the deceased, for the burial or for the burning of his remains, and for the consecration and protection of his tomb." The Indo-Chinese Family. The people of Indo-China, whom we consider to belong to the Yellow Kace, have a darker complexion than the Chinese and the Japanese. Their stature is smaller, and their civilization is less developed. They are generally of an indolent disposition. To this group belong the Burmans, the Annamites and the Siamese. The Burmans and the Annamites. — The Burmese are a nation which has made a good deal of progress in civilization. In this respect the Annamites are not behind them. The physical, moral, and political characteristics of these two nations have no particular point of interest to engage our attention. We content ourselves with showing the reader (figs. 147 and 148) the types and the costumes of the inhabitants of the Burmese Empire. The Siamese. — The population of the kingdom of Siam, which amounts to nearly five millions, scarcely includes two millions of Siamese. The Siamese, according to the travelling notes of M. Henry Mouhot, a French naturalist, are easily recognized by their effeminate and idle appearance, and by their servile physiognomy. Nearly all have rather a flat nose, prominent cheek-bones, a dull unintelligent eye, broad nostrils, a wide mouth, lips reddened by their habit of chewing betel, and teeth as black as ebony. They all keep their heads entirely shaved, except just on the top, where they allow a tuft to grow. Their hair is black and coarse. The women wear the same tuft, but their hair is finer and carefully kept. The dress of both men and women is by no means an elaborate one. Figs. 149, 150, and 151 give an exact idea of the type and mode of dress of the Siamese. A piece of cloth, which they raise behind, and the two ends of which they fasten to their belt, is Hosted by G00gle ir shoulders. Apart from the delicacy of her features, a imese girl of from twelve to twenty need but little envy the iventional models of our statuary. Fhe Siamese are passionately fond of trinkets. Provided they 147. — BURMESE NOBLES. ter, it matters little whether they are real or false. They er their women and their children with rings, bracelets, Jets, and bits of gold and silver. They wear them on their is, on their legs, round their necks, in their ears, on their ies, on their shoulders, everywhere theyHcgfiffilyCpb^l^m. > loner's son is so covered with them, that the weight of his families. The wife is not kept secluded as in China, but sh< herself everywhere. As a shadow to this picture, we must ; that parents have a right to sell their children as slaves. The Siamese have retained intact all the superstitions of 148.— BURMESE LADY. Hindoos and the Chinese. They believe in demons, in ogres mermaids, &c. They have faith in amulets, philtres, and soothsayers. They support a king, a court, and a seraglio, \ itsjiumerous progeny. A second king pg§£#<§fcft#^ ^s Pa^J his armv. and his mandarins. Between these two kings and 3 \ mmm $m Hnsfprl hy governors and lieutenant-governors, all equally incapable rapacious. Like all degraded and servile nations, the inhabitants of g devote a great part of their existence to games and amusemei: M. Mouhot visited Udeng, the present capital of Cambc The houses of this town are made of bamboo, sometime 150.— SIAMESE DOMESTIC. planks. The longest street is nearly three-quarters of a i long. The tillers of the soil and the hard-working classes, well as the mandarins and the other employes of the govemm- dwell in the suburbs of the town. M. Mouhot met at e\ moment mandarins in litters or in hammocks followed bj' a swi of slaves each carrying something ; some, a red or yellow umbre the size of which is an indication of theHo^|,^lG^^lf uality °f owner; others, boxes of betel. Horsemen, mounted on se 0*$ and sweat, often took their turn in the panorama. He a noticed some light carts drawn by a couple of small but s^ oxen. Elephants too, moving majestically forwards with o 152. — TOMB OF A BONZE, AT LAOS. stretched ears and trunk, and stopped occasionally by numerous processions which were wending their way to pagodas to the sound of boisterous music. The town of Bankok, the capital, waltedl6rmeS^ called Si Hosted by GoOgle 332 THE YELLOW RACE. An absolute sovereign, looked upon as the incarnation of Buddha, rules over the kingdom of Siam, which is divided into four provinces ; Siam, Siamese Laos, Siamese Cambodia, and Siamese Malacca. At one time a tributary of the Burmese Empire, the kingdom of Siam recovered its independence in 1759, and in 1768 even increased its territory by conquest. There are scarcely any manufactures in Siam, but commerce still flourishes there, although less vigorously than formerly. The Siamese exchange their agricultural produce, their wood, their skins, cotton, rice, and preserved fish, with the Chinese, the Annamites, the Burmese, and especially with the English and Dutch possessions. Elephant's tusks are also an important article of barter, and elephant-hunting is the calling of many of the natives. The country is rather fertile. It is an immense plain, hilly towards the north, and intersected by a river, the Meinam, on the banks of which are placed its principal towns. Bankok is situated on this river, not far from its mouth in the gulf of Siam, and is consequently the principal port of the whole kingdom, the head- quarters of its entire trade. The periodical overflowings of the Meinam fertilize the whole of its basin. Art and science are not entirely neglected in the kingdom of Siam. It is one of the few Asiatic countries which possess a literature of its own and some artistic productions. Although the Buddhist religion prevails in Siam and is the state religion, yet different sects are tolerated there, and Chris- tianity can reckon two thousand five hundred disciples. Fig. 154 represents the young prince-royal. The Stieng savages are subjects of the king of Siam. Their stature is a little above the average. They are powerful, their features are regular, and their well-developed foreheads show intelligence. Their only clothing is a long scarf. They are so much attached to their mountains and forests, that when away from their own country they are frequently seized with a dan- gerous kind of home-sickness. These Siamese aliens of civilization work in iron and ivory ; and make hatchets and swords which are sought after by collectors. Their women weave and dye the scarves they wear. They cultivate rice, maize, tobacco, vegetables, and fruit-trees. They possess neither priests nor temples, but they acknowledge the Hosted by G00gle 154— THE PRINCE- ROYAL OF SIAM. Hosted by VjOOSlC stence of a Supreme Being. The time they can spare from -J I' viiv ui *.*< uv VA1V VIVAAUV/ jungles. The women appear to be as active and as untiring the men. They use powerful cross-bows with poisoned arrows shoot the elephant, the rhinoceros, and the tiger. They are foi of adorning themselves with imitation pearls of a bright colon which they make into bracelets. Both sexes pierce their eai and widen the hole every year by inserting in it pieces of boi and ivory. 155,— CHINESE GIRL. Hosted by G00gle THE BKOWN EACE. With M. d'Omalius d'Halloy we class in the. Brown Eace a great variety of peoples who have nothing in common but a complexion darker than that of the White and Yellow races, and whom we are led to believe the product of the mixture of these two with the Black Eace. This theory accounts for one portion of the Brown Eace possessing White characteristics, while the other has a greater resemblance to the Yellow Eace. The Brown Eace forms three branches or geographical groups, viz. — 1. The Hindoo branch. 2. The Ethiopian branch. 3. The Malay branch. We will proceed to describe the principal peoples belonging to these three branches. j Hosted by G00gle CHAPTEK L HINDOO BEANCH. The peoples composing the Hindoo branch have been frequently classed in the White Eace. In fact, their shape, their language, and their institutions partly correspond to those of Europeans and Persians, but their darker and sometimes black skins distinguish them from either. The civilization of the Hindoos was, in the earliest historic times, already far advanced ; but for many centuries it has remained stationary, or has gone backwards. Most Hindoos practise the creed of Brahma, a religion sprung up in their own land. A few have embraced Mahometanism, others have become Buddhists. The most striking feature of Hindoo society is its division into castes. These castes, originating ages and ages ago, have always been the principal obstacles to the development of civilization. How can progress, talent, or remarkable works be expected from men whom society forbids ever to emerge from the conditions of their birth ? These castes are four in number. The Brahmin caste, whose members are devoted to the practice of religious rites, to the study of the law, and to teaching. The Rajpoots or Cshatriyas, who are professional soldiers. The Banians, who are agricul- turists, cattle breeders, and traders. Lastly, the Sudras, who follow various callings, and who are subdivided into many sub- castes corresponding to as many different handicrafts. Each caste has its peculiar religious observances. Its mem- bers cannot intermarry with those of other castes, and must always follow the profession in which destiny has placed their parents. The descendants of those, who, by improper marriages or Hosted by G00gle er the name of Vama-Sancara. Finally below even this last 156. — NATIVES OF HYDERABAD. >ion come the Pariahs, beings cursed by le most deplorable state of moral ahiention 157. — A BANIAN OF Slfll&^byGiOOgle less brown skin, which, in the south of India, and particularly ong the lowest classes, is sometimes black. Ethnologically aking, there are two families in the Hindoo branch : — the ndoo family, and the Malabar family. Hindoo Family. rhe Hindoo family constitutes the greater part of the >ulation of northern Hindostan. The dialects spoken in this 158. — AN AGED SIKH. ntry have generally some relation to Sanskrits b!l3i®(egleur of it springs from a medley of vanity and superstition, the latter ICO.— SIR SALAR JUNG, K.S.I. xling them to consider trinkets as talismans against spells and tchcraft. "It was also, under the ancient Mogul dy^tjg^ogjfans of aservine their nronertv from the rapacity of Mussulman 344 THE BROWN EACE. " The Hindoos are very tenacious of their prerogatives, and India has frequently been convulsed by san'guinary struggles occasioned by some one of its castes refusing to conform to traditional custom. Terrible conflicts have, ere now, been caused by an inferior caste attempting to wear slippers of a certain shape, the privilege of a higher one, or because it wished to use, in its religious rites, certain musical instruments hitherto reserved for the worship of the superior divinities. "The Hindoos may lay claim to a refined politeness and elegant manners ; but the smallest concession in the respect to which their social position entitles them, the least relaxation in the prescribed etiquette are considered a sign of weakness and an avowal of inferiority. " The conversational formulae used towards a native vary according to his station. Nothing is easier than to affront their susceptibility. Never speak to an Oriental of his wife or of his daughters. To do so, is contrary to custom. To use the left hand in bowing, in eating, or in drinking, is to offer an insult; the right hand alone is reserved for the higher uses, and the left, the ignoble hand, is used for ablutions. " In Europe, it is a sign of respect to uncover the head, in the East, to take off the turban is a disrespectful act. On entering a house, conversely to us, they keep their heads covered, but leave their shoes at the threshold. This habit seems to me a most sensible one. A white cloth is stretched on the floor of their apartments, on cushions placed on which they sit cross-legged. It appears to me that shoes were invented to preserve the feet from the roughness of the ground, from the mud and from the dust of the roads. Are they not then objectionable, or, at any rate, useless in the interior of a well-kept house ? " When paying a visit, the Hindoo waits until his host bids him adieu. They very properly suppose that a visitor can be in no hurry to leave the friend whom he has purposely come to see. The host, on the contrary, may have urgent business claiming his immediate attention. The forms of this dismissal vary : — ' Come and see me often,' or 'Remember that you will always be welcome/ Presents of flowers and fruit generally terminate these visits, and betel is invariably handed round. " The usual food of the Hindoo is very simple, and their meals are of but:^l|ort# duration. Rice boiled in water, and curry (a Hosted by G00gle npound of vegetables, ghee — a sort of clarified butter, spices, i saffron), sometimes eggs or milk, a little fish, and occasionally irse meal cakes, bananas, and the fruit of the bread tree, form 3 morning and evening meal of rich and poor. The leaves of > banana tree are used instead of plates and dishes. In eating ' . . ^^ ■^^^ ^Ej ^a A vw*M ^^■FV" $T3 ^ m^ii^s ^ B^MhBIh getables and rice, fingers are used instead of spoons and forks ; d the meat is torn by the teeth in default of the absent knife. 1 European is rather likely to be disgusted with the sauce ckhng down the chins and the fingers of the guests at a Hindoo ;al. Water is the prevailing drink, and but little^ose is made - .. «• p i t Hosted by VjOOQIC arrack (a spirit extracted from the palm tree). 3±6 THE BROWN RACE. society and from the bosom of their families, the high caste natives never eat meat ; as for the Pariahs, they eat all kinds of animals, and are very fond of arrack. " Betel is incessantly used all over India. In hot countries, where the inhabitants lead a sedentary life, their digestion becomes sluggish, and can neither receive nor absorb the same quantity of nourishment as it does in Northern countries. The vegetable diet of the Hindoos is not very rich in azotic matter, and its continual use would cause an internal formation of gas, without the alkaline stimulant used by all the inhabitants of India to prevent its development. This stimulant is the astringent areca nut, which they chew with a little lime placed on a betel leaf. " This mixture dyes the lips and the tongue red ; it is pernicious in its effect on the teeth, but it is certainly useful to the digestive functions. " Tobacco, rolled in a green leaf and lighted like a cigarette, is the universal method of smoking. " Many different languages are spoken in India. Philologists have enumerated as many as fifty-eight, but not more than ten have an alphabet and literature of their own. Sanskrit, a dead language, is more or less mixed with all the dialects of India. In the north it forms their incontestable basis, but in the south it is merely grafted on to pre-existing tongues, and frequently but faint traces are found of it. All the alphabets seem to have been invented separately, but they have been improved by the regular and philosophical arrangement of the Devanagri. This is the name of the Sanskrit alphabet, the most perfect of all. The living languages have a very simple grammatical construction. "Hindostani, which is spoken in the province of Agra, is the most cultivated and the most generally employed of all Indian languages. It has received a large Persian element since the Mussulman conquest. Besides the local dialect of each district, Hindostani is everywhere spoken by the educated classes, and by all professing the Mussulman faith. " The ties of caste replace in India the ties of family. Hindoos love their wives and children ; but this affection is subordinated to their caste duties. Expulsion from the family is principally caused by violation of religious ordinances or by the illicit con- nection of high caste women with men of a lower rank. The Brahmins and the Sudras, and even the Pariahs themselves, are Hosted by G00gle ded into a number of sub-castes, a member of one of which 162.— A COOLIE OF THE GHATS. Hosted by Go Ogle 348 THE BROWN RACE. by his relations; his wife is considered a widow, his children orphans ; he must expect no assistance, no pity, from those who hitherto have surrounded him with the most considerate care. " Europeans are ranked with Pariahs on account of their daily habit of eating beef. It is true that the Brahmins consent to shake hands with an European, but on their return home after doing so, their first care is to undress and perform their ablutions so as to purify themselves from the stain of such an impure contact ; it is even asserted by them that the mere gaze of a Pariah is enough to cause contamination. " Every village in the Deccan is composed of two parts, sepa- rated by an interval of a few yards. These are two distinct quarters, one reserved for the men of caste, the other, surrounded by hedges, allotted to the Pariahs. These miserable beings are not allowed to enter the streets of the village without the consent of the inhabitants, and they must only presume to draw water in the wells set aside for their particular use. Where the Pariahs have no special wTells, they place their chatties by the well-sides of the men of caste, and await humbly and patiently the alms offering of a few glasses of water. It is always the women that attend to this household care. " The higher castes often make the Pariahs presents, which they invariably place on the ground, for fear of contracting by mere physical contact the moral leprosy with which in their eyes the Pariahs are affected. A person of caste never accepts a gift from the hands of a Pariah. "If on the one hand the high-caste natives are physically and intellectually superior to the Pariahs ; on the other hand the latter are more laborious, more docile, and more accessible to European influence. In the Presidency of Madras they consti- tute the best and the most solid nucleus of the native English army, " If I wished to enumerate all the subdivisions of caste based on the conduct, the calling, and the occupation of every one, if I described in detail the clothes and the ornaments which vary ad infinitum according to caste, if I attempted to recite all the existing prejudices about food and the daily minutiae of life, I should fill several volumes. " The same tendencies are met with everywhere. The desire of making a figure in the world, and the ambition for command Hosted by G00gle Yet the existence of caste has always prevented the forma- n of a really homogeneous nation. Caste is the cause of the urp rivalries, the endless hostilities, that have always been 163. — PAGODA. AT SIRRHINGHAJtf. Ed to national independence, and facilitated the invasions of angers. 'Besides the social consequences we haX£sted™f?$8$fc, ^e ndoos believe in religious ones. Their different castes cannot 350 THE BROWN RACE. same mysteries. These differences, according to the dogmas of Siva, are to extend into the next world." The preceding paragraphs refer to the inhabitants of the Deccan. It would be too tedious to describe the other popula- tions of the peninsula, the Bengalese, the Eajpoots, the Mahrattas, &c. We will merely say a few words about the Cingalese, or inhabitants of the island of Ceylon. The Cingalese are entirely Indian in figure, in language, in manners, in customs, in religion and in their government. Their features are not widely different from those of Europeans, but they differ from them in their colour, in their height, and in the proportions of their bodies. The hue of their skin varies from light brown to black. Black is the usual colour for their eyes and hair. They are shorter than Europeans, but well made, with well defined muscles. Their chests and their shoulders are broad, their hands and feet small. Their hair grows in large quantity and to great length, but they have little on their faces. Their women are, as a rule, well made. The attractions which a lady ought to combine in order to be a perfect beauty are, according to a Kandian fop, as follow : her hair should be as bushy as the tail of a peacock, long enough to reach the knees, and gracefully curled at the ends ; her eyebrows arched as the rainbow, eyes blue as sapphires, and her nose like a hawk's beak ; her lips must vie with coral in redness and lustre, and small, even, and closely-set teeth, resembling jessamine buds, should complete the picture. Ceylon, as everybody knows, is indebted for its great prosperity to its coffee plantations, a large trade being carried on between the English and its inhabitants, who enjoy a well-earned reputa- tion as cultivators of that shrub. " The Kandians," says M. Alfred Grandidier, " possess more robust constitutions, less feeble limbs, and features not so effemi- nate as their countrymen of the coast ; their lusty shoulders, broad chests, and short but muscular legs, are a proof of the effect which climate can produce on the development of the human frame. " The habits of the mountaineers have undergone scarcely any change in consequence of the foreign influences which have impressed a complex character upon the manners of the people nearer the sea. Their primitive customs, originated by the imperious necessities of life, are still found in existence among ^J HINDOO BRANCH. 351 them ; and they have none of the timidity and servility which are the attributes of the dwellers in the maritime districts. The feudal state in which they have long lived has preserved in them an energy and independence rare among Indian populations. The configuration of the country enabled them, in fact, to retain their freedom more easily than then- brethren of the northern plains, either when aggression came from their own ruler or from foreign intruders ; but, nevertheless, that indolence still prevails among them which comes naturally to every people who are not obliged to contend against any material obstacle in order to supply themselves with the necessities of life. The tyranny of their masters, whether chiefs or kings, has unhappily accustomed them to hypocrisy, and made them vindictive. " Whilst the Cingalese of the coast have applied themselves to trade and industry, those of the high regions always show re- pugnance to such occupations. They have invariably shunned any connection with foreigners ; and so great, even at the present day, is their desire to withdraw as much as possible from asso- ciation with the English settlers, that they conceal their villages in the middle of the jungle, and at a distance of some hundreds of yards from the least frequented paths. A rice-field in the midst of forests, or a glimpse of the tall tops of cocoa- trees, alone indicate the presence of human beings in places that would other- wise be thought uninhabited. In countries like these, where nature has accumulated so many of her treasures, the relations of man with man, which assuredly conduce to the happiness of all, are not indispensable ; and the natives love a solitude, where they enjoy benefits of every kind in profusion. " The Cingalese of the hills have a traditional respect for their chiefs, and a deep attachment to ancient usages. Their costume differs from that of the inhabitants of the plains, insomuch that they do not habitually wear the vest, this garment being, in fact, exclusively reserved for their nobles, who assume it on grand occasions ; their hair is allowed to grow to its full length, and ig not confined by a comb. Sumptuary laws and religious injunc- tions settle in other respects the clothing suitable to each class, the greater part of these laws being, to the present day, still in force among the Kandians, in spite of the abolition of castes which has been decreed by the English administration. " The length of the frock-like petticoats worn by men and _^ Hosted by G00gle part of the national costume to which the greatest importance attached, was formerly proportioned according to the soc position of the individual. " The paxiahs were not permitted to let this skirt come lov than the knee, and males and females of inferior caste had 1 breast uncovered. Among the chiefs themselves a differei existed, and still exists, as to the method of wearing the comh 164— PALAXQTJIN. After rolling it twice or three times round the hips and legs, tl form with it round the waist a more or less bulky girdle, dimensions of which depend upon their rank. The nobles also distinguished from the lower orders by their extraordin headgear, consisting of a sort of round, flat, white linen c like that worn by the Basque peasantry, while the lower clas merely surround the head with a silk ha^ik^ffikie^feaving n< nf it. harp PYAPnf iha fnn. TTip Idncr nlnnp nnssPRSPfl thfi nrivili HINDOO BRANCH. 353 gold and silver chains or ornaments, are still scrupulously observed by the Kandians, who strenuously resist any encroach- ments of the inferior castes." M. Guillaume Lejean has published some interesting parti- culars of his travels in Cashmere and the Punjaub. It is not our intention to follow the learned wanderer in his rapid journeys across Hindostan, but we should like to draw attention to a novel opinion which has been expressed by him as to the ethnology of the Indian population. M. Lejean believes that he has re-discovered in Hindostan the Aryans, that is to say, the primitive people from whom the Aryan or Caucasian race is descended. The features of these peoples, our own genuine ancestors, are regular and of an European type. Their complexion is not browner than that of the inhabitants of Provence, Sicily, or Southern Spain. This statement does not apply to the lower castes, whose skin grows darker and darker, until it reaches the sooty tint of the Nubian. The country people have long and slightly wavy hair, blacker and more brilliant than jet. Though not effeminate in appearance, the race is de- ficient in muscular vigour, an effect attributed by the traveller to the torrid heat of the climate. The women are generally of middle height, with pleasing but expressionless countenances of little originality ; their eyes are large, black, and submissive, and their hands delicately beautiful. In the opinion of M. Lejean, the fine, symmetrical heads, small, well-formed hands, and regular features of the natives of Scinde, remind one completely of the white European race, and allow us to identify the inhabitants of that part of Asia with the ancient Aryans, who were the colonizers of primitive Europe, and who springing, as is said, from the regions of Persia, spread themselves over our own continent and that of Asia. This is an opportune moment for alluding to a race, sprung seemingly from Hindoos of the lower classes, which had pro- bably abandoned its own land, and from which those detached groups that traverse the entire globe, without ever fixing them- selves anywhere, or ever losing their peculiar characteristics, derive their origin. Under this category come the wandering tribes, commonly known in different languages, as Gipsies, Bohemians, Zingari, Gitanos, &c, who wander over countries either as beggars or in pursuit of the lowest callings. These A A Hosted by G00gle 354 THE BROWN RACE. Gipsies and Bohemians, who aire especially numerous in the South of France, and enjoy a considerable repute as horse- clippers and tinkers, who are invariably vagrants, and now and then thieves, appear to be descended from low-caste Hindoos. They are travelling Pariahs. Such, at least, is the opinion enter- tained by some modern ethnologists. Malabar Family. The Malabar Family inhabiting the Deccan differs in many respects from the Hindoo, and the peoples included in it are very dark and sometimes black in complexion. This branch is divided into three principal divisions : the Malabar s proper, who dwell in the country of that name ; the Tamids, in the Carnatic ; and the Telingas, in the north-east. Neither the language nor the customs of the tribes composing this group, exhibit pecu- liarities sufficiently important to induce us to stop to describe them. Hosted by G00gle CHAPTER II. ETHIOPIAN BRANCH. The African populations which we class with the Brown Race re a resemblance in the formation of the body to those of the bate Race, but their skin is darker in colour, being intermediate iween that of the Negro and that of the White. The natives istituting this branch 7e never attained to any >reciable degree of civi- ition, and there is a nplete void of positive ions as to their origin migrations, while even different languages in i among them, are partly mown to us. We shall tinguish in the Ethio- n branch, two great dlies, the Abyssinian I the Fellan. Abyssinian Family. ?hat portion of Eastern Lea which bears the of Abyssinia, con- 16a.— ABYSSINIAN. le s several tribes, speaking different languages.. These tribes ranked by many ethnologists as belonging to the White Race, their complexion, though darker invariablyiA&Ctitagkf the 'OllGan. is fftirp.r than iVmf nf +Vip rivcrm TViptv liair. wVnr4i ic Lliail LIItlL \JL tixc ncgiuj uj.^ o\y 1A1 166.— NOtTERS OF THE WHITE NILE. Hosted by G00gle to them a place intervening between the Black and the Wl ETHIOPIAN BKANCH. 357 inhabitants, aborigines of the country, with the Orientals who conquered them. We shall instance among the principal groups belonging to tins family, the Abyssinians, the Barabras, the Tibbous, and the Gallas, about any of whom, with the exception of the first named, little is as yet known. Abyssinians. — Most authors place this people in the White Race and the Semitic family. There is, in fact, reason to believe that Abyssinia was many times overrun, and perhaps civilized, by the nations of Western Asia ; but the colour of their skin, which is very much darker than that of the Arameans, is a proof that the conquerors intermarried with the conquered, and that from this union the present Abyssinian race has sprung. According to Dr. Eiippel, there are two predominant types existing among the people of this country, the more widely spread approaching to that of the Arabs, while the second approximates closely to the Negro. The Abyssinians forming the first group, are finely formed, showing resemblance to the Bedouins in feature and expression of countenance. Their peculiar characteristics are, an oval face, a long, thin, finely cut nose, a well proportioned mouth with lips of moderate thickness, lively eyes, regular teeth, slightly crisp or smooth hair, and a middle stature. Most of the people dwelling on the high mountains of Samen, and the plains surrounding Lake Tzana, belong to this branch, which also includes the Falceshas, or Jews, the Garnctnts, who are iclolators, and the Agows. The second type is chiefly distinguishable by a shorter and broader nose, slightly flattened ; thick lips ; long eyes, with little animation in them ; and very curly and almost woolly hair, which is so close, that it stands straight out from the head. A portion of the population along the coast, in the province of Hamasen and other neighbouring districts, belongs to this second group. The results of Baron Larrey's comparison of the Abyssinian with the Negro, are, that the eyes of the former are larger and of a more agreeable look, and have the inner angle slightly more inclined. In the Abyssinian the cheek-bones and the zygomatic arches are more prominent than in the Negro ; the cheeks form a more regular triangle with the angle of the mouth and the corner Hosted by G00gle oi tne jaw ; tne lips are xuick witnout oeing turned out like Negro's; the teeth are handsome, well set and less projectin and the alveolar ridges are not so prominent. The complexi 167.— A NOUER CHIEF. of the Abyssinian is not so black as that of the Negro in t' interior of Africa. Baron Larrey adds, that the features win he has described above, belonged to the0 genuine Egyptians ough Abyssinia two years previously, M. Guillaunie Lejean 168. — CHIEF OF THE LIRA. Hosted by G00gle Imn ^rkncirloraVila infrirmnt.inn ftR to tins nart 01 Africa, fllltl 360 THE BROWN EACE. England in 1866, afforded an opportunity of establishing the accuracy of the French traveller's statements. At the moment when the British expedition was directed against him, the army of the Abyssinian potentate, the Negus Theodorus, numbered about 40,000 men. The infantry carry a spear, shield, and long curved sabre, and they attack their enemy impetuously at close quarters. The light cavalry is excellent. The horsemen, when charging, let go their bridles, fight with both hands, and guiding and urging their horses with leg and knee only, make them perform the most prodigious feats. Each man has a sword and two lances ; the latter always hit the mark, and their wound is deadly. They are used like javelins, and are about two yards long. Every horseman is followed by an attendant retainer, whose duty it is to dash among the enemy, sword in hand, in order to recover his master's weapon, and bring it back to him. These horsemen charge headlong against an infantry square, making their horses bound into its midst over the heads of the soldiers, and then backing them in order to break its fornyj^Lon. The sfrrmishers are Tigre mountaineers, of cool, resolute courage, and their aim is remarkably good. The Emperor Theodorus seldom occupied his palace. His real capital was his camp, which he kept incessantly moving from one end of his dominions to the other. He maintained strict discipline in his household and on his staff, among the members of which the bastinado was often liberally used. Two fifths of the Abyssinian population are in the service of the wealthier classes, and probably there is no country in the world where servitude is more widely spread. A person pos- sessed of an income equal to £160 a year, keeps at least eight dependants-. M. Lejean had no fewer than seventeen attendants during his journey, and his travelling companion, an Englishman, as many as seventy. The religion of this country forms a rare exception in Africa, as the inhabitants are Christians. The head of the Abyssinian church is styled the " Abouna," and his theocratic powers are almost boundless. King and pontiff entertain a mutual hatred of one another, each dreading his rival and keeping close watch upon his movements. Whichever of the two possesses greater courage and energy gains the upper hand. Hosted by G00gle ETHIOPIAN BRANCH. 361 Monks and priests are common in Abyssinia. The natives take a decoction of kousso once a month as a cure for the tapeworm. The fact is, that in consequence of some local circumstances, the meat used in the country is full of cysts, which, getting into the stomach along with the food, generate in the intestines this troublesome guest that must be got rid of from time to time. This remedy for tapeworm has been recently introduced into Europe. ^ s have been arranged and published bv M. F. Conpee. in the 368 THE BROWN RACE. The stranger traversing Batavia, the chief town of Java, cannot be an uninterested observer of the motley crowd perpetually renewing itself before his eyes. Among the number- less half-clothed men he sees none but brawny shoulders and wiry, muscular frames. He is struck by the dull, dark brown complexion of the Indian, whose hue appears to vary with the district where he happens to be located ; for his skin which seems brick-red on the sea coast assumes a violet and pinkish tinge near masses of vegetation, and becomes almost black in a dusty region. The perfectly naked children gambolling in the full rays of the sun look like fine antique bronzes, so graceful are their attitudes and so faultless their mould. The Malay in his turban, tight-fitting green vest, and grey petticoat striped with whimsical patterns, has quite a handsome head. His face is oval with eyes of almond shape and a thin, straight nose ; the mouth is shaded by a slight, glossy black moustache and his high broad forehead is admirably formed. All do not perhaps possess so many advantages, but they are without exception finely made, with beautiful black, smooth, and silky hair. The Javanese wear hats of bamboo, the plaiting of which is perfect. These are of all patterns, large and small, round, pointed, or made in the shape of shields, extinguishers, or basins. Their costume varies ; some of the men wear Arab vests and wide trousers ; some would be naked but for a sort of drawers ; while a few swathe their loins in a piece of Indian calico which dis- plays the form ; and others are clad in a very narrow petticoat that produces a most picturesque effect. The natives make all their garments out of a broad piece of stuff manufactured in the countiy, the devices and colours of which manifest extraordinary variety and astonishing taste. The women's head-dress consists of a handkerchief which is tied and arranged in a more or less artistic manner. At Sourabaya the traveller mingled in the throng, composed of a sprinkling of Chinese, Malays, and natives of Madura, but throughout which the Javanese element predominated. The typical costume of the country may be said to consist of the long-folded sahrong, a very close-fitting vest, and a kind of sun- shade on the head, covered in blue cloth interwoven with gold and silver thread, and lined with red. The colours used here are not very gaudy, and the priests may at once be recog- Hosted by G00gle it ;^4 2 1 &erX POLYNESIAN Jmf.Dupus 3P..R an Hosted by MALAY5 /%*7*^ MfclLJjpin.. iii.JIi'iiiJi ! I Iir ^."W i ■HB«T^ , ', >, J, Hosted by v. - ■ ^ _ '^,. " "^ 'V. L.l, XX 1C\V lanquins were moving about through the crowd ; those of the ranese are formed of a enmock suspended from >amboo cross-stick and altered from the rays of sun by a little roof of nboo or palm-leaf mat- ?. Long boats laden h cargo and having cefully curved prows *e passing up and down river. )n fete days all the lponents of this motley Ititude are drawn toge- r by the performances he Javanese bayaderes, lancing girls (fig. 172). Fhen visiting the ceine- M. de Molins saw the ve Prince of Soera- i, who had come there sray at the tomb of forefathers. His ex- ively simple costume only distinguished i that of ordinary Java- by a loop of dia- ds stuck in the verv I turban enveloping head, and by a beauti- old clasp fastening the of his sahrong. the Javanese Kam- our traveller saw er articles; such as -roll boxes, bowls, and 170.— MALAY. ss* ' sr**~** 171. -JAVANESE. ^ Hosted by LrOOgle r vases ; which were ornamented in r^mi'nrr a^A finUM+i-A : -w***? *$|jg&% if- fg| &**m^UH '**** t MALAY BRANCH. 371 and animals of the country ; and he was struck with surprise at the goldsmiths being able to form such marvellous trinkets with tools of the most primitive description. He went to see one of the large manufactories where are made the curious sahrongs worn by the inhabitants, the shades of colour in- which rival those of the most valuable cashmeres in brillianc}r, harmony, and richness. The process of making these fabrics is a slow and difficult one. A fine sahrong is worth more than £4 and does not exceed two and a half yards in length by one yard in width. In one of his excursions M. de Molins met a wedding pro- cession. The happy couple, who belonged to two equally rich families, were in a very pretty palanquin surmoimted by a canopy ornamented with palm leaves and a trellis-work of bamboos and reeds. The garments of the newly married pair were of red silk brocaded with gold embroidery, and their heads, necks, arms and hands were covered with jewellery. Children ran alongside and in front shouting and making the air resound with the noise of gongs, tom-toms, and cymbals (fig. 173). Four men in yellow breeches, with blue and white girdles, their hips adorned by long pointed strips of blue and yellow silk, and their heads bound with a tightly-fitting turban of the same colours, carried at the end of long poles, bright, waving bouquets made of tiny rosettes of blue, yellow, and white paper attached to thin canes. Eelatives, friends, and all those who expected to partake of the repast which was generously provided, followed the palanquin. Ceremonies of different kinds precede this solemn procession ; and for several days before it takes place the betrothed couple are obliged to submit to a public exhibition and general hubbub, and are condemned to remain nearly completely motionless and in almost total abstinence, lest they should in any way damage their clothes. This marriage festival is the grand occasion for displaying all the resources of Javanese culinary art. The fruits are served at the beginning of the banquet, and steamed rice only slightly cooked forms the principal dish. The feast would be a sorry one, if the bill of fare did not include pickles, salt fish dried in the sun while alive, half-hatched eggs also salted, a hash of meats perfumed with roses and jessa- mine, the seeds of various plants, and slices of cocoa-nut rolled B B 2 Hosted by G00gle ±11 I^AXHtHUV* X"V feels a dreadful sensation of burning, which passes from mouth to the stomach and seems to be ever increasing. ] people soon appear to grow accustomed to these spicy ragor 173. —JAVANESE WEDDING. and M. de Molins says that in a short time this kind of cook* which greatly tends to stimulate the appetite, becomes in pensable. During this gentleman's stay at Soerabaya, the Dx Governor- General of Java was there on his tour of insped of the island, which takes place evei^sfiiY^Gyaagle High imiicc V>or1 hoen nruse here, by which a child is strangled as an offering to the gods and to gain from them the cure of a sick relation ; the same rite also takes place when a chief inadvertently commits a sacrilege which might draw down the anger of the divinities upon the whole nation. In other cases, they cut off a joint of the little finger in order to obtain the recovery of a parent who is ill, and consequently crowds of people may be seen who have lost in succession the two joints of the fourth finger of each hand, and even the first joint of the next. Charms and signs occupy a prominent place in the religion of this people. Dreams are warnings from the divinity; thunder and lightning are indications of war or of some great catastrophe. Sneezing is an act of the worst possible omen. A chief was near clubbing to death a traveller who had sneezed in his presence at the moment when the native was going to fulfil his duties at his father's tomb. Tahitians. — Tahiti and the whole group of the Society Islands are almost exclusively inhabited by the same branch of the Malaysio-Polynesian race. The people of these islands have become celebrated in France by the charming and interesting accounts of their manners and habits, which have been pub- lished by Bougainville. We have taken the details which follow from Lesson, the naturalist, who made a somewhat lengthened stay in this island. The natives of Tahiti are all, with scarcely an exception, very fine men. Their limbs are at once vigorous and graceful, the muscular projections being everywhere enveloped by a thick cellular tissue, which rounds away any too prominent develop- Hosted by G00gle 392 THE BROWN EACE. ment of their frames. Their countenances are marked by great sweetness, and an appearance of good nature ; their heads would be of the European type but for the flatness of the nostrils, and the too great size of the lips ; their hair is black and thick, and their skin of light copper- colour and very varying in intensity of hue. It is smooth and soft to the touch, but emits a strong, heavy smell, attributable, in a great measure, to incessant rubbings with cocoa-nut oil. Their step wants confidence, and they become easily fatigued. Dwelling on a soil where alimen- tary products, once abundantly sown, harvest themselves without labour or effort, the Tahitians have preserved soft effeminate manners, and 'a certain childishness in their ideas. The seductive attractions of Tahitian women have been very charmingly painted by Bougainville, Wallis, and Cook, but Lesson assures us, on the contrary, that they are extremely ugly? and that a person would hardly find in the whole island thirty passable faces, according to our ideas of beauty. He adds, that after early youth all the females become disgusting, by reason of a general flabbiness, which is all the greater because it usually succeeds considerable stoutness. There is room for believing that the good looks of the race have deteriorated in consequence of contagious diseases since the first European navigators landed in this island, a very fortunate one in the magnificence of its vegetation and the mildness of its temperature. Tahitian girls before marriage have full legs, small hands, large mouths, flattened nostrils, prominent cheek-bones and fleshy lips; their teeth are of the finest enamel, and their well-shaped prominent eyes, shaded by long, fringed lashes, and sheltered by broad black eyebrows, beam with anima- tion and fire. Too early marriage and suckling, however, very soon destroy any charms which they may possess. Their skin is usually of a light copper-colour, but some are remarkable for their whiteness, particularly the wives of the chiefs. Family ties are very strong among the Tahitians. They have great love for their children, speak to them with gentleness, never • strike them, and taste nothing pleasing without offering them some of it. The women manufacture cloth, weave mats or straw hats, and Hosted by G00gle int trees, gather fruits, and cook the victuals in underground ms. Essentially indolent, the Tahitians generally go to bed twilight. All the members of the family live huddled together in the ne room, on mats spread upon the ground ; chiefs, alone, re- 177. — NATIVE OF TAHITI. sing upon similar textures stretched on frames. The siesta is ;o one of their habits, and they invariably sleep for three hours er noon. Flesh-meat, fruits, and roots constitute their usual sustenance; t the basis of their food is the fruit of the bread-tree. They aerate the cocoa-tree. Their ordinary drink is pure water. They have an unrestrained icy for European garments, and seek by eveigfsp3iagj©^^ineans get themselves coats, hats, silk cravats, and especially shirts. 394 THE BROWN RACE. dress themselves completely in our style, they frequently exhibit a sort of motley attire. The women when within-doors are almost naked ; some pieces of cloth, skilfully arranged and half-covering their bosoms, form a kind of tunic, while their feet are bare. They have a great liking for chaplets of flowers, and bright blossoms of the Hibiscus Rosa sinensis, or China rose, adorn their foreheads. They pass through the lobe of their ears the long tube of the white and perfumed corolla of the gardenia, and protect their faces from the fiery rays of the sun with small leaves of the cocoa-tree. The chief employment of the Tahitians is the manufacture of cloth. By very simple means they form fabrics from various barks, with which they clothe themselves in a manner as ingenious as it is comfortable. The paper-mulberry tree, the bread- tree, the Hibiscus tiliaceus, &c, are the plants of which they generally use the inner bark. They dye these stuffs with the red juice extracted from the fruit of a species of fig-tree, or in canary- yellow. Their garments are not the only things which these people embellish in brilliant colours and with different patterns. They have a passionate love for tattooing, but, nevertheless, do not bear a single device on their faces. The parts on which they trace indelible marks are the legs, arms, thighs and breast. Every- thing leads to the conclusion that tattooing, which is forbidden by the missionaries under the severest penalties, was, and is doubtless still, the symbol of each individual's functions and the emblazon- ment of the armorial bearings of families, for its designs are always varied. The Tahitians of former days constructed canoes ornamented with very carefully executed emblematic carvings, but since iron tools have taken the place of their imperfect implements, they do not give signs of the same pains in adorning their workmanship. Their ancient weapons are also greatly neglected since they have acquired firearms. Heretofore, they had long spears with pointed ends, slings formed from the husk of the cocoa-nut, basalt axes of perfect shape, and files made out of the rasp-like skin of a skate. They have a passionate love for dancing. The instrument they use for beating the measure is a drum, the cylinder of which consists of a trunk of a tree scooped very thin. The dog-skins which constitute the drum-head are stretched by ribbons of Hosted by G00gle MALAY BRANCH. 395 bark. They blow with the nose into a little reed flute having three holes at its open end, and one only at that which is fur- nished with a diaphragm, and produce deep, monotonous tones from it. The Tahitians are hospitable, and display great civility in guiding travellers in the middle of the woods, and in their mountains. Christianity has modified their habits a little. They attend the Protestant churches because they are obliged to do so, but they have little religion. Among themselves property is sacred ; that of strangers is, however, eagerly coveted. We cannot dwell here upon the sanguinary human sacrifices which their priests formerly commanded the natives of this island to offer up, nor upon their coarse mythology. The English missionaries of the Eeformed Church have long since caused these fiendish customs to disappear. Pomotouans. — The Pomotouans, who inhabit the low, flat islands known to geographers and mariners by the name of the Dangerous Archipelago, are constituted in a physical point of view like the Tahitians, to whom they bear a close resemblance, but they do not possess the benevolent character nor the affectionate manners of the latter. Their look is fierce, and the play of the features savage. They cover their bodies and faces with tattooing, the figures of which consist of lozenges and numerous circles, and their nakedness seems quite to disappear beneath the mass of these designs. As the islands they inhabit are poor in alimentary productions, they only think of repelling by force any navigators who attempt to enter into communication with them. Deriving as they do their daily sustenance from the sea, they are daring sailors and skilful fishermen. They form, from a very hard wood, javelins that are somtimes fifteen feet long, and ornament them with carvings executed with much taste ; their paddles are also engraved in very graceful patterns, as well as their axes, which are cut with coral. The women wear on their throats pieces of mother-of-pearl, which are shaped round and notched at the edges, making brilliant and elegant necklaces. Our spirituous liquors are frantically sought after by the natives. Marquesans. — The aborigines of the Marquesas are closely allied to those of the Society Islands, having similar features and Hosted by G00gle 396 THE BEOWN RACE. a colour which presents lika varieties. Cook affirmed that they excelled perhaps all the other races in the nobleness and elegance of their forms, and the regularity of their lineaments. The men are tattooed from head to foot and appear very brown, but the women, who are only lightly marked, the children, and the young people, who are not so at all, have skins as white as many Europeans. The men are in general tall, and wear the beard long and arranged in different ways. Their garments are identical with those of the Tahitians, and made from stuffs of the same materials. Sandivichians. — The colour of this people is that of Siena clay, slightly mixed with yellow. Their hair would be magnificent if they allowed it to grow, for it is as black and shining as jet. Their manners are pleasing. They usually shave the sides of the head, allowing a tuft to grow on the top, which extends down to the nape of the neck in the form of a mane. Some, however, preserve their hair entire, and let it float in very gracefully twisted locks about their shoulders. Their eyes are lively and full of ex- pression ; their nose slightly flat and often aquiline ; their mouth and lips moderately large. They have splendid teeth, and it is consequently a great pity when they extract a few on the death of a friend or benefactor. Their chests are broad, but their arms show little muscle, while the thighs and legs are sinewy enough, and their feet and hands excessively small. They all tattoo their bodies or one of their limbs with designs representing birds, fans, chequer-work, and circles of different diameters. The same superstition that deprives them of their teeth at the death of a relation or of a friend also imposes upon them the obligation of cauterizing every part of their bodies with a red-hot iron. The women are not so well-made as the men, and their stature is small rather than tall, but their ample shoulders, and the smallness of their hands and feet, are generally admired. They have a great love for coronets of green leaves. Princesses and ladies of high rank have reserved to themselves the exclusive right of wearing flowers of vacci passed through a reed. Hardly any of them use more than one earring, but they have a passion for necklaces, and make them of flowers and fruits. These details are derived from Jacques Arago, who published under the title, " Voyage aatour du Monde" an account of the long and remarkable journey which he made in 1817, and the three Hosted by G00gle MALAY BRANCH. 397 following years, on board the French corvettes, U Uranie and La Physicienne, commanded by Freycinet. In a letter dated from Owhyhee, as was also that from which the preceding information has been taken, the same traveller gives us the following sketch of the " palace " of the Sovereign of the Sandwich Islands, as well as of its occupants. It was a miserable thatch hut, from twelve to fifteen feet in breadth, and about five-and-twenty or thirty feet long, with no means of entrance but a low, narrow door. A few mats were spread within, on which some half-naked colossi — generals and ministers — were lying. Two chairs were visible, destined on ceremonial days for a huge, greasy, dirty, heavy, haughty man — the king. The queen, but half-dressed, was a prey to the itch and other disgusting maladies. This tasteful and imposing interior was protected by walls of cocoa leaves and a sea-weed roof, feeble obstacles to the wind and rain. M. de la Salle in his account of the voyage of the Bonite (1836 and 1837), states that the natives of the Sandwich Islands generally possess good constitutions ; that their slender and well- formed figures are usually above middle height, but far from equalling that of the chiefs and their wives, who seem from their tall stature and excessive corpulence to have a different origin from the common people. These exalted personages appear in fact to be descended from a race of conquerors, who, having subjugated the country, established there the feudal system by which it is still oppressed. The same author adds that the Sandwichians have mild, patient dispositions, are dexterous and intelligent, and capable of bearing fatigue with ease. Such is the state of misery in which the lower classes live, that the unfortunate wretches have scarcely what will keep them from dying of starvation. This distress is not the result of idleness alone; the ever increasing exactions of the chiefs harass and discourage the labourer. The voyagers in the Bonite when drawing near the Sandwich Islands, could think of nothing but the pictures of them which Captain Cook has left us ; of those wild, energetic, kind, simple men ; those warriors in mantles of feathers ; those women full of grace and voluptuousness ; of whom the English explorer has given the most alluring descriptions. They were first pleased by Hosted by G00gle expertness of the swimmers. They beheld the islanders as nafc as in the days of Cook, without any other attire than the tra tional "maro;" but these men did not now come, byway of salu to crush their noses against those of their visitors ; they w< 178.— NATIVE OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. profuse of handshaking all round, in the English fashion, ai affected the airs of gentlemen. Bananas, potatoes, and other frei provisions had been brought on board by them, but when, as : olden times, they were offered necklaces, bracelets, and ear-ring the savages no longer showed the genuine admiration and fieri eagerness which were looked for from them. After a disdainf glance thrown at the beads, they asked for clothes and iro: These men had ceased to be the artless islaii^^df^he time Captain Cook ! MALAY BRANCH. 399 come on shore by a district chief, named Kapis-Lani, who happened to be a woman. Her toilet did not in the least resemble that of the natives, consisting of a white muslin robe confined at the waist by a long blue riband, a silk kerchief rolled about her neck, and a head-dress of hair fastened by two horn combs. The former customs of the inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands have been completely modified, from every point of view, by the English missionaries, who, in order to gain their object have availed themselves of the weapon heretofore so powerful in the hands of priests and of kings, — " taboo." Formerly, when a ship arrived, a multitude of women used to come to take it by assault, either in canoes or swimming, contending among themselves, per fas et nefas, for the bounties of the strangers: the missionaries declared the sea " tabooed " for the softer sex. In order to restrain the laxity of morals, wives were proclaimed " tabooed " for everyone except their husbands, and unmarried girls " tabooed '' for all. It was necessary to proscribe the passion for strong drinks, and consequently brandy, wine, and other liquors were struck with the same interdiction. We should add that these reformers did not limit themselves to the moral authority of " taboo," but supported it by the stick and hard labour on the roads. • By such means they have succeeded in altering the external and public behaviour of the natives, but not in uprooting vice among them. We shall borrow a few features from the picture which M. Vaillant has sketched of his walk in a village of Hawaii. Scarcely had he arrived when he heard himself called from the interior of a large cabin in which were assembled about thirty persons, who invited him to enter. The dwelling was built of straw, and along its walls calabashes, cocoa-nuts, and a few fishing utensils were to be seen hanging in confusion. A single apartment usually answered all purposes, but it was separated into two parts. Some mats spread upon the ground at one side indicated where the occupants slept ; the ground oppo- site was bare, and in the latter division the hearth was placed. Hosted by G00gle 400 THE BROWN KACE. The officer seated himself on the matting in the same way as his hosts, who surrounded him and overpowered him with questions. Men and women, moreover, without giving a thought to decency or the civilization introduced by the English mission- aries, put themselves perfectly at their ease, and were content with the very simple attire of their forefathers; the " maro " formed the whole extravagance of their toilette. The most apparent result of the efforts of the missionaries is that the natives of the Sandwich Islands are for the most part able to read and write. These perfectly naked savages possess a prayer-book, a treatise on arithmetic, and a bible. Any little presents which people liked to offer them were accepted by the women with gratitude ; after a few coquettish advances, in case a person pressed them closely, they uttered slowly and distinctly, the word, " taboo.' ' When out-of-doors their costume consisted of a piece of cloth which they draped around them not ungracefully ; but they did not appear very pretty to the eyes of the voyagers in the Bonite. The governor of Hawaii, Kona-Keni, was a man of goodly presence and pleasing face ; his height was almost gigantic and . his corpulence enormous, so much so that he could scarcely support himself upon his legs. His wife received M. Vaillant. She reclined on a heap of mats forming a bed raised a foot above the ground, and was covered from head to foot in a loose gown of blue brocaded silk. Her proportions also were immense. Laid heavily on the piled-up mats her prodigious mass reminded him of a seal basking in the sun. Around the bed of the lady paramount, were ranged, squatted on mats, the numerous dames forming the court of Kona, and who were clad in loose robes of cotton stuff with coloured flowers. Their head-dresses consisted of hair only, in the American style. Two of them were provided with fly-flappers, which they waved incessantly round Kona's head. The governor wore a straw hat, a vest and shirt of printed calico, gray trowsers, and had his neck bare. Micronesian Family. The Micronesian Family inhabits the small islands lying to the north-west of Oceania, that is to say the archipelagos of the Marianne (or Ladrone) Islands, as well as of the Caroline and Hosted by G00gle — nonoTp • Hosted by GoOgle MALAY BRANCH. 401 Mulgrave groups, &c. According to Dumont d'Urville these tribes differ from those dwelling in the east by having a darker skin, thinner face, less widely opened eyes, more slender forms, and altogether distinct dialects, which vary from one group to another. Their manners are gentle. They do not recognize " taboo." We shall avail ourselves of some interesting details which Lesson has given of the Caroline islands, mentioning in the first place what he has told us concerning the Gilbert group. A solitary canoe containing three men ventured to approach his corvette, and it was only after prolonged hesitation that these individuals made up their minds to go on board. They had lank and miserable limbs ; a dark colour, and broad, coarse features ; their hair was cut close by means of a shell, and neither beard nor moustache was apparent. The only covering they wore was a little round cap of plaited dry leaves of the cocoa tree, and a roughly-made mat with a hole in the middle, for the protection of the shoulders and breast. Their stomachs were bound round with twists of a rope formed from the husk of cocoa-nuts. Lesson and his companions were the first Europeans whom the natives of the island of Oualan had seen. They made a ring round the voyagers, touched them with their hands, and over- whelmed them with questions. This race is generally of low stature. The men have high and narrow foreheads, thick eyebrows, small oblique eyes, broad noses, large mouths, white teeth, and bright red gums. Their black unfrizzled hair is long, and their beard far from abundant. They possess rounded and well- formed limbs, and a hard, light bronze-coloured skin. They are spiritless and effeminate. The women and young girls have agreeable countenances, their black eyes being full of fire, and their mouths furnished with superb teeth ; but their figures are badly formed, and they have hips of immoderate size. They go about in almost complete nudity. Both sexes have a habit of making a large hole in the right ear, for the purpose of placing in it everything that XDeople give them, and sometimes articles very unfit for ear- rings, such as bottles. Girls usually fill it with bouquets of pancratium, a plant of the amarylhs family, and often detach a 3D D Hosted by GoOgle 402 THE BROWN RACE. few of these sweet-smelling flowers, and try to put them into a traveller's ears, while smiling graciously. The men also wear chaplets of brilliant flowers or arum stalks. These aborigines do not make use of any kind of garments as a protection against the frequent rains of their climate, but they shield their heads from the sun with a broad arum leaf. The chiefs seem to try not to expose themselves so much to the influences of the heat, and are whiter and hetter made than the other islanders. The patterns of their tattooing are their sole mark of distinction ; they fasten feathers, however, in the knot which confines their hair, and whenever persons give them nails they stick them around their forehead, arranging them regularly like a diadem. The women appeared chaste; nay more, the men were anxious to keep them out of the strangers' sight, a feeling all the more remarkable because quite at variance with the usual habits of the South Sea Islanders. Oualan was governed at that time by one chief only, whom the people encompassed with extraordinary reverence, never pro- nouncing his name without veneration. The prerogatives of the chiefs appear to rest upon religious ideas. They differ in general from the people by an erect carriage, a more imposing and solemn manner, as well as by the better executed tattooing which indicates their rank. A great many chiefs rule in the districts of the island, and appear to hold absolute rights over property, and, it may be, over persons. As regards industry, the only manufactures for which the natives of Oualan are remarkable are cloth and canoes. They draw threads from the leaves or the stems of the wild banana tree (Musa textilis), which they know how to dye in red, yellow, or black, and with which they make stuffs that are not greatly in- ferior to European textures. They build their boats with hatchets formed of stone or shell, and notwithstanding the imperfection of these implements, give to their work a finish of finical nicety. The body of the canoe is hollowed from a single tree, sometimes a very big one. They polish the wood with trachyte, or by means of large rasps made from the skin of the sea-devil. These little vessels are propelled by oars, without either sails or masts. Lesson, in alluding to the people of the Mac-Askill Islands, who bear the closest analogy to the inhabitants of Oualan both in Hosted by G00gle MALAY BRANCH. 403 physical characteristics and the state of their industry, remarks on the taste which some savages display for flowers as an adorn- ment of the person. There were young females in these islands who wore on their heads crowns of Ixora, the corollas of which are a brilliant crimson ; a few had passed through the holes in their ears leaves of flowers exhaling the fragrant odour of violets, and white blossoms were twined in the hair of others. These ornaments, adds the learned traveller, possessed a charm more easy to feel than to express. d d 2 Hosted by G00gle THE RED RACE. This race is sometimes designated as the American, because in the fifteenth century it formed in itself alone almost the whole population of the two Americas. But Europeans, and especially the English of the United States, constitute, at present, the greatest part of the inhabitants of America. They have to a certain extent monopolised the name of " Americans/ ' so much so that people generally call the nations of the Eed Eace Indians, a title which was given to them by the Spaniards, in the time of Christopher Columbus, in consequence of that strange mistake of the great Genoese navigator, who discovered the New World without knowing it, that is to say, while imagining that he had simply found a new passage by which to reach the " Great Indies," in Asia. The denomination of Red Race is, besides, a defective one, in so much that several tribes ranked in this group have no shade of red in their colour. This division is, in fine, rather imperfect from an ethnological point of view, but it possesses the advantage of fixing geographically the habitat of the nations included in it. The American Indians approach closely to the Yellow Eace belonging to Asia, in their hair, which is generally black, rough, and coarse, in the scarceness of their beard, and in their complexion, which varies from yellow to a red copper colour. Among one portion of them the very prominent nose and large open eyes recall to mind the White Eace. Their forehead is extremely retreating, but no other race have the back part of the head more developed, or broader eye-sockets. Though usually hospitable and generous, they are cruel and implacable in their Hosted by G00gle THE BED KACE. 405 resentments, and make war for the most frivolous causes. Two of these nations, the primitive Mexicans and Peruvians, had formerly founded wide empires, and had attained a somewhat advanced civilization, though lower than that of Europeans of the same epoch. But these monarchies having been swept away by their Spanish conquerors, progress was checked. The Indians who escaped the destruction of their race, and submitted to the victors, are now no better than husbandmen or artisans, while as for those that remained independent, they wander in the woods and the prairies, and are the last representatives of man in the savage or semi-savage state. They live in the forests and savannahs, on the produce of their hunting and fishing ; their wives are kept by them in a state of the greatest abjectness, and are loaded with the heaviest labour; while certain tribes still continue to offer human sacrifices to their idols. A fact which deserves notice is, that the Indians who were already settled and who were husbandmen when the Spaniards arrived, speedily submitted to the strangers, but never has it been found possible to tame those who have shown themselves, from the fifteenth century to this day, rebels to foreign influence, and who have preferred to become masters of the forest solitudes rather than accept the yoke and customs of the Europeans. More- over, the number and population of the wild tribes of the two Americas diminish every year, especially in the north, a result attributable to their continual wars, the ravages of the small-pox, and, above all, to the fatal passion of these savage nations for brandy. Anthropologists have taken great trouble to discover the real origin of the Indians of America, and to establish their affinity with the other human families, but up to the present their studies have led to no satisfactory result. The Indians cannot be accu- rately brought into connection with either the White, Yellow, or Brown Bace ; nor on the other hand can the mingling of these three groups be explained, nor the American Indian be recog- nized as a determinate original type. The great differences, both in the shape of the skull and the colour of the skin, which are known to exist among the Indian tribes, proclaim numerous crossings. Many circumstances prove that in very remote times some Europeans made their way into America by the north, and that they found there one or Hosted by G00gle 406 THE RED RACE. many native races, whom they partially overcame, and with whom they are mingled to the present day. The degree of civilization that had been reached by the Mexicans and Peruvians of old, when Columbus landed in the New World ; the American tradition which holds that the founders of their empires were foreigners ; the existence on the Northern continent of ruins announcing a state of things at least as far advanced as that of the Nahuath and the Quichuas, (the former Mexicans and Peruvians) ; such are the facts which establish that a blending formerly took place between the primitive Indians and Northern Europeans. The shape of the body peculiar to the Indians of the north- east, has equally led to the supposition that they reckon some Europeans among their ancestors, an idea which appears all the more admissible, because in the tenth century the ancient Scandinavians undoubtedly had relations with America. Consequently, the original race which has peopled the Western Hemisphere is almost impossible to be traced. Probably the population which existed in the New World before the arrival of the Europeans was made up of several types different from those that are extant at present in the other regions of the globe, types having a great tendency to modify themselves, and which were obliterated whenever they came in contact with the races of Europe. But to re-ascend back to this primordial population would now be impossible. In commenting on the tribes of the Eed Kace, we shall separate the Indians who inhabit North America from those dwelling in the southern continent, for certain characteristics mark these two groups ; in other words, we shall distinguish in the Ked Kace two divisions — the southern branch and the northern branch. Hosted by G00gle CHAPTEE I. SOUTHERN BRANCH. The nations of the southern branch of the Red Race have affinity to those of the Yellow Race. Their complexion, which is often yellowish or olive, is never so red as that of the northern Indians ; their head is usually of less length and their nose not so prominent, while they frequently have oblique eyes. We intend to divide this branch into three families, named respectively the Andian, Pampean, and GuaranL Andian Family. This family contains three different peoples : — firstly, the Qiuchuas ; secondly, the Antls Indians; and thirdly, the Arau- canians. The characteristics which the tribes belonging to this group possess in common are an olive-brown complexion, small stature, low retiring forehead, and horizontal eyes, which are not drawn down at the outer angle. They inhabit the western parts of Bolivia, Peru, and the State of Quito. These countries were completely subjugated by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century, and the natives converted to Christianity. We shall notice in the first division, Quichuas or ancient Incas, the Aymaras, the Atacamas, and the Changos. Quichuas or Incas. — The Quichuas were the principal people of the ancient empire of the Incas, and they still constitute almost half the free Indian population of South America. In the fifteenth century the Incas were the dominant race among the nations of Peru, speaking a language of their own, called Quichu. The former Incas, those who lived before the Spanish invasion, Hosted by G00gle calculated exactly the length of the solar year, had made rati considerable progress in the art of sculpture, preserved meinori* of their history by means of hieroglyphics, and enjoyed a we organized government and a code of good laws. Orators, poe and musicians were to be found among them, and their figurati melodious la guage denot prolonged ci ture. Their i ligion was ii pressed to t highest degi with a de\ tional characti They recogniz a God, the s X^reme arbil and creator all things. Tl divinity was t sun, and supe temples we raised by the to its honoi Their religi and their ma ners breathed great sweetness. The fierce Spanish conquerors e countered this mild, inoffensive race, and never rested until th had annihilated with fire and sword these unsophisticated, peac able men, who were of more worth than their cruel invaders. Figs. 179 and 180 represent types of Incas drawn from t genealogical tree of the imperial family, wrhich was published the " Tour du Monde," in 1863. According to Alcide d'Orbigny, the naturalist, who has giver perfect description of this race, the Quichuas are not copp( coloured, but of a mixed shade, between brown and olive ; th< average height is not more than five feeiotw^G«>h)^y that of t females heincr still Inwpr TIiav Tiava hrnflVL snnarfi shoulde 179. — HUASCAB, THIRTEENTH EMPEROR OF THE INCAS. >ple are strongly characteristic, constituting a perfectly distinct >e, which bears no resemblance to any but the Mexican. The id is oblong from front to back, and a little compressed the sides ; the forehead slightly rounded, low, and somewhat reating ; yet the skull is often capacious, and denotes a rather ge development of the brain. The face is generally broad ; i nose always prominent, somewhat long, and so extremely aqui- e, as to seem as the end were it over the per lip, and srced by wide y open nos- Ls. The size the mouth is ge rather than >derate, and s lips protrude, hough they 5 not thick, le teeth are rariably hand- lie, and re- 180.— COY A CAHUANA, EXPRESS OF THE IN CAS. tin good dur- l old age. Without being receding, the chin is a little short ; leed it is sometimes slightly projecting. The eyes are of >derate size and frequently even small, always horizontal, and ver either drawn down or up at their outer angle. The eye- 3ws are greatly arched, narrow, and thin. The colour of the hair always a fine black, and it is coarse, thick, long, and extremely tooth and straight, and comes down very low at each side of the •ehead. The beard is limited to a few straight and scattered irs, which appear very late across the upper lip, at the sides the mouth, and on the point of the chin. The countenance these men is regular, serious, thoughtful, and even sad, and it ght be said that they wish to conceal their thoughts beneath 3 still, set look of their features. A pr4^b^9d§l#eldom >n am oner the women. 410 THE RED RACE. Inca, who is in every way so entirely like those of the present day as to prove that during four or five centuries the lineaments of these people have not undergone any perceptible alteration. The Aymaras bear a close resemblance, so far as physical cha- racteristics are concerned, to the Quichuas, from whom, however, they are completely separated by language. They formed a numerous nation, spread over a wide expanse of country, and appear to have been civilized in very remote times. We may consider the Ajanaras as the descendants of that ancient race which, in far-off ages, inhabited the lofty plains now covered by the singular monuments of Tiagnanaco, the oldest city of South America, and which peopled the borders of Lake Titicaca. The Aymaras resemble the Quichuas in the most remarkable feature of their organization, namely the length and breadth of the chest, which, by allowing the lungs to attain a great develop- ment, renders these tribes particularly suited for living on high mountains. In the shape of the head and the intellectual faculties, as well as in manners, customs, and industry, both peoples may be compared, but the architecture of the monuments and tombs of the former race diverges widely from that of the Incas. Two nations inferior in numbers to those of which we have just spoken, may be mentioned here ; they are the Atacamas, occupy- ing the western declivities of the Peruvian Andes, and the Changos, dwelling on the slopes next the Pacific. Both one and the other are like the Incas in physical characteristics, but the colour of the skin of the Changos is of a slightly darker hue, being a blackish bistre. Antis. — The Antis Indians comprise many tribes, namely, the Yuracares, Mocetenes, Tacanas, Maropas, and Apolistas, races which inhabit the Bolivian Andes. Their complexion is lighter than that of the Incas, they have not such bulky bodies, and their features are more effeminate. The account which M. Pjuil Marcoy has given in the " Tour du Monde " of his travels across South America from the shores of the Pacific to those of the Atlantic, is accompanied by several Hosted by G00gle ich belong to the same group ; and we have reproduced a few these drawings in our pages, the first two (figs. 181 and 182) ng types of the heads of these people. We also derive from same source the following details as to this race. Hie Antis is of medium stature and well-proportioned, with inded limbs, paints his jeks and the *t round his js with a red 3, extracted m the rocou ,nt, and also ours those rts of his body )osed to the with the black genipa. His rering consists a long, sack- iped frock, ven by the men, as is 0 the wallet, the shape of tand bag, carried by him across his shoulder, and containing i toilet articles, namely : — a comb made with the thorns of s Chouta palm ; some rocou in paste ; half a genipa apple ; a of looking-glass framed in wood ; a ball of thread ; a scrap wax; pincers for extracting hairs, formed of two mussel- ills; a snuff-box made from a snail's shell, and containing y finely ground tobacco gathered green; an apparatus foi- ling the snuff, made of the ends of reeds or two arm bones a monkey, soldered together with black wax at an acute ;le ; sometimes, a knife, scissors, fish-hooks, and needles of ropean manufacture. Both sexes wear their hair hanging down ]fe€&8§G^ ***!> 1 cut straight across iust over the eves. The only trinket 181.— AN ANTIS INDIAN. their nostrils. For ornaments they have necklaces of gl beads, cedar and styrax berries, skins of birds of brilli plumage, tucana's beaks, tapir's claws, and even vanilla hu strung upon a thread. . The Antis almost always build their dwellings on the bai of a water-course, i lated and half hide by a screen of vege tion. The huts are 1 and dirty, and pervac by a smell like that wild beasts, for the can scarcely circulate them. In the fine seas of the year sheds ti the place of closed- huts (fig. 183). The weapons us by the Antis are cli and bows and arroi Fishermen capture th prey in the runni streams with arro barbed at the ends, having three prongs like a trident. Other darts, with pal points or bamboo-heads, are employed by the hunter for bii and quadrupeds. The Antis occasionally poison the waters of the creeks a bays by means of the Menispermum cocculus. The fish becoi instantaneously intoxicated ; they first struggle, then rise be uppermost, and come floating on the surface, where they i easily taken with the hand (fig. 184). The earthenware of this people is coarsely manufactured, a is painted and glazed. They live in families, or in sepan couples, and have no law be}Tond their own caprice. They not elect chiefs, except in time of war, and to lead them agaii an enemy. The girls are marriageable Hatd ^6b©g^ears of aj and accept anv husband who seeks them, if he has r>rpvioii! 182. — AN ANTIS INDIAN. ps of rice, manioc, maize, and other cereals ; carry his gage on a journey, follow him to battle, and pick up the >ws which he has discharged; they also accompany him in 183.— SUMMER SUED OF THE ANTI.S. chase or when fishing, paddle his canoe, and bring back to r dwelling the booty gained from an enemy, and the game fish which has been killed ; and yet, notwithstanding this *re work and continual bondage, the ^men^fgg^ways rful. forest. 0MZ% 184.— ANTIS INDIANS FISHING. # Hosted by VjOOQ IC When one of this nation dies, his relatives and friends asseml the river. They then wreck the dwelling, break the ^ased's bow, arrows, and pottery, scatter the ashes of his rth, devastate his crops, cut down to the ground the trees which has planted, and finally set fire to his hut. The place is frriwfrgf 185. — PERUVIAN INTERPRETER. iceforth reputed impure, and is shunned by all passers-by ; station very soon reasserts its sway, and the dead is for ever ced from the memory of the living. 'hese people who thus treat their dead so ba^h^ cfSOf^3 hn al disdain for the aged, for whom they reserve the refused their 416 THE RED RACE. Their religion is a jumble of theogonies, in which however are recognizable a notion of the existence of a supreme God, the idea of the two principles of good and evil, and finally, a belief in reward or punishment on leaving this life. The manners of these tribes are, as may be seen, a somewhat singular medley; free will is the ruling law and, as it were, the wisdom of their race, which lives unfettered in the bosom of nature. The Antis Indians have a soft smooth idiom, which they speak with extreme volubility in a low, gentle tone that never varies. Araucanians. — These tribes spread themselves over the western slopes of the Andes, from 30 degrees south latitude to the extremity of Tierra del Fuego, and also occupy the upper valleys and plains situate to the east of the Cordilleras. The Araucanians constitute two nations, namely, the people who properly bear that name, indomitable warriors, whose heroism is celebrated in the history of the Spanish conquest of Peru : and the Pecherays, who inhabit the most southern link of the American mountain chain. According to A. d'Orbigny, both these races present a great similitude as regards their physical characteristics, which consist of a head that is large in proportion to the body, a round face, prominent cheekbones, a broad mouth, thick lips, a short, flat nose, wide nostrils, a narrow retiring forehead, horizontal eyes, and a thin beard. Fig. 186 is a representation, after Pritchard, of one of those Araucanian Indians who may be considered as forming the least barbarous of the independent native tribes of South America. These people do not, in fact, lead the nomadic existence of Indians. Being protected by thick forests from the attacks and invasions of the Americans, they build what are real houses with wood and iron, and their customs denote a rudimentary civiliza- tion. A Perigueux attorney has rendered the Araucanian nation celebrated in France. He had succeeded in getting himself chosen as its king, and when chased away by the Peruvians came to relate his Odyssey in Europe, returning afterwards to re- conquer his. unstable throne. Orelie, the First of the name, has Hosted by G60gle ong the Indians of Araucania. We wish him a tranquil %--■ K 1SG.— A I AX. Che Pecherays inhabit the coast of Tierra del Fuego and h shores of the Straits of Magellan. The life they lead L the ice covering all the interior of the hilly country they upy, force them to remain exclusively on the borders of sea. Fheir colour is olive or tawny; they are well built but of cnsy figure, and their legs bowed, from continually sitting ss-legged, give them an unsteady gait. Their pleasant natural le gives indication of an obliging disposition. Jeing essentially nomadic, they do not form themselves into miunities, but move about in small numbers, by groups of two three families, living by hunting and fishipog^ by^^||nging iv resting-place as soon as they have exhausted the animals and and continually traverse every shore of Tierra del Fuego as w as of the countries situated to the east of the strait. Tl build large boats, twelve to fifteen feet long and three f broad, from the bark of trees, with no other implements tli shells or hatchets made of flint. Their huts (fig. 187) are covered over with earth or sealsk 187.— PECHERAY HUTS. and some fine morning the whole family will abandon them a take to their canoes with their numerous dogs. The women i their oars, while the men hold themselves in readiness to pie any fish they perceive, with a dart pointed by a sharpened sto When in this way they arrive at another island, the worn having placed their little vessel in safety, start in search of sh< fish and the men go hunting with the sling or the bow. A sh stay is followed by a fresh departure. These poor people are thus incessantl3r0s^p@©d)^the dang of the sea and the inclemencv of the seasons, and vet thev are SOUTHERN BRANCH. 419 covered with a scrap of sealskin, whilst the whole apparel of the women consists in a little apron of the same material. Notwithstanding this rude existence, the Pecherays display some coquetry. They load their necks, arms, and legs with gew- gaws and shells, and paint their bodies, and oftener their faces, with different designs in red, white, and black. The men occasionally ornament their heads with bunches of feathers. All wear a kind of boot made of sealskin. Like all other tribes who subsist by hunting, the Pecherays have among themselves frequent quarrels, and even petty wars, that last only a short time but are continually renewed. They share their food with their faithful companions, the dogs ; it consists of cooked or raw shell-fish, birds, fish, and seals, and they eat the fat of the latter raw. They do not, like the inhabitants of the North Pole, pass the most rigorous period of the winter underground, but pursue their labours in the open air, protecting themselves as best they can against the cold which prevails on these shores, notwithstanding the deceitful name of Tierra del Fuego. This "Land of Fire," by reason of its proximity to the South Pole, is, during the greater part of the year, a region of ice. The women are subjected to the roughest labours. They row, fish, build the cabins, and plunge into the sea, even during the most intense cold, in their search for the shell-fish attached to the rocks. The language of the Pecherays resembles that of the Patago- nians and the Puelches in sound, and that of the Araucanians in form. Their weapons and their religion, as well as the paintings on their faces, are also those of these three neighbouring nations. Pampean Family. The rather numerous tribes of South America who compose this family are frequently of tall stature, with arched and pro- minent foreheads overhanging horizontal eyes winch are some- times contracted at the outer angle. They inhabit the immense plains or Pampas, situated at the foot of the eastern slope b/ the Andes. They rear great numbers of horses, and consequently the men, like the tribes who roam over the steppes of Asia, are nearly always rriounted. E E 2 Hosted by G00gle 420 THE EED RACE. The peoples comprised in this family are : the Patagonians, properly so called; the Puelches, or the tribes of the Pampas to the south of the La Plata river ; the Charruas, in the vicinity of Uruguay; the Tolas, Lenguas, and Machicuys, who occupy the greater part of Chaco ; the Moxos, the Chiquitos, and the Mataguayos ; and finally the famous Abipoous ; the centaurs of the New World. We can only speak of some of these groups. Patagonians. — Under this name we include, besides the Pata- gonians proper, several other nomadic races resembling them, who are found, some to the north, and others to the south, of the La Plata. The latter wander over the pampas which stretch from that river as far as the Straits of Magellan ; while the northern tribes, who bear a physical resemblance to the genuine Patagonians, inhabit that portion of the country com- prised between the Paraguay river and the last spurs of the Cordilleras, and which stretches northward as far as the twentieth degree of latitude, including the inland plains of the province of Chaco. The Patagonians are the nomads of the New World. They furnish the horsemen who scour its vast arid tracts, living under tents of skins, or who hide in its forests, in huts covered with bark and thatch. Haughty and unconquered warriors, they despise agriculture and the arts of civilization, and have always resisted the Spanish arms. These savages have darker skins than most of those in South America. Their complexion is an olive-brown ; and among the men composing them we find the tallest stature as well as the most athletic and robust frames. The tribes dwelling furthest south are the tallest, and the height of the others diminishes as the Chaco region is approached. As has been stated in the introduction to tins work, the stature of this people has been heretofore greatly exaggerated. M. Alcide d'Orbigny, who resided for seven months among many distinct divisions of the Patagonians, measured several individuals in each. He assures us that the tallest of all was only five feet eleven inches in height, and that the average is not above five feet four. M. Victor de Eochas, in the account he has given of his Hosted by G00gle SOUTHERN BEANCH. 421 voyage to Magellan's Straits, has proved in a similar manner that the stature of the Patagonians is by no means extraordinary. He found them j)ossessed of a brown complexion ; coarse straight black hair, little beard ; serious countenances — those of the men being manly and haughty, and the women's mild and good — and regular but coarse features. The hands and feet of the females were small. Broad, robust bodies, stout limbs, and vigorous constitutions characterise all the tribes in question, the women as well as the men. The Patagonians proper have large heads and wide flat faces with prominent cheek-bones. Among the nations of Chaco, which we shall speak of further on, the eyes are small, horizontal, and sometimes slightly contracted at the outer corner ; the nose is short, flat and broad, with open nostrils ; the mouth big, the chin short, and the lips thick and prominent ; they have arched eyebrows, little beard, long straight black hair, and gloomy countenances, frequently of ferocious aspect. Though the languages of these races are essentially distinct, they have a certain analogy between themselves ; all are harsh, guttural, and difficult of pronunciation. The details which follow are derived from the narrative of a traveller, M. Guinard, who spent three years in captivity among the Patagonians. Fate threw him into the hands of the tribe of the Poyuches, who wander along the southern bank of the Eio Negro, from the neighbourhood of Pacheco Island. Whether these nomadic Indians live in the vicinity of the Spanish Americans or in the solitudes of Patagonia, beneath the outlying woody spurs of the Cordilleras, or on the bare, wild soil of the Pampas, they lead identically the same life. Their occu- pations are the chase, tending their domestic animals, horseman- ship, and the use of the lance, the sling, and the lasso. Their dwellings consist of hide tents, carried by these savages from place to place in their migrations. Their costume is composed of a piece of some sort of stuff with a hole in the middle to pass the head through, and their waist is girt by another fragment of smaller size. A cloth rag is tied round then- head, separating the hair in front, and allowing it to fall in long waves over the shoulders. They carefully pluck the hair from every part of their bodies, without even sparing the eyebrows. Hosted by G00gle canians bring them, the colours varying according to tai but red, blue, black, and white have the preference. "] women wear a frock with holes for their heads, arms, and lej they pull out their hair and eyebrows like the men, and ps their faces, the strange and hard expression of which is enhan 188. — PATAGONI AS . by ornaments of coarse beads. Bracelets and square ear-ri] complete their toilette. They can throw the lance and lasso with as much ease as the men, and ride on horseback 1 them. M. Guinard learned how to manage the horses and the weapons of this people, for they made him join in their nai and guanaco hunts. The chief occupation of these Indians is, in fact, the cha and they devote themselves to it all through the year. 1 Chen-elches, one of the Patagonian tribes^d wfiflobgie no hors TYiirsnp fVhpir era top nn fnnt\ 424 THE RED RACE. selves to gambling and debauchery. They cheat at play and become intoxicated to madness, when they fight among them- selves with fury. Two religious festivals are observed by them during the year, on which occasions they dance and indulge in fantastic cavalcades. A custom of piercing their children's ears exists among these people, and the ceremony which then takes place is analogous to that of baptism. The child is laid on a horse, which has been thrown down by the chief of the family or tribe, and a hole is solemnly bored through the little lobe of his ear. Let us add that the existence of a new-born infant is submitted to the consideration of the father and mother, who decide upon its life or death. Should they think fit to get rid of it, it is smothered, and its body carried a short distance, and then abandoned to wild dogs and birds of prey. If the poor little one is judged worthy to live, its mother nurses it until it is three years old, and at four years of age its ears are solemnly pierced, as described above. The Patagonians in their religious ceremonials, sacrifice to the Deity a young horse and an ox given by the richest among them. When these animals have been thrown on the ground, with their heads turned towards the east, a man rips open the victim (fig. 189), tears out the heart and sticks it, still palpi- tating, on the end of a spear. The eager and curious crowd, with eyes fixed on the blood flowing from the gash, draw auguries, which are almost always to their own advantage, and then retire to their abodes, under the belief that God will favour their undertakings. Marriage among these nations is a traffic, a barter of various articles and animals for a wife. The woman, moreover, is burdened with work, whilst the man takes his ease, whenever he is not hunting or engaged in minding the cattle. The Patagonian who dies in his own home is buried with pomp. His body, covered with his handsomest ornaments, and with his weapons laid beside it, is stretched on a winding-sheet of skins. They then wrap it in these skins and tie it on the back of his favourite horse, whose left leg they break. All the women of the tribe join the wives of the deceased and utter piercing shrieks. The men, having painted their hands and faces black, escort the body as far as the place of burial, where horses Hosted by G00gle SOUTHERN BRANCH. 425 and sheep are sacrificed to serve as food for the dead during his journey into the next world. Tobas, Lenguas, and Machicuys. — These three tribes, which must, as we have said, be included in the Pampean family, are termed collectively the Indians of the Grand Chaco, or Great Desert. It will not be uninteresting, in order to give an example of the customs of the wild South American races, to quote here some pages in which an account of his visit to the Grand Chaco nations is related by Dr. Demersay in his travels in Paraguay. " Keduced at the present day to very small numbers and, indeed, almost extinct, the remnant of the Lengua nation," says Dr. Demersay, " lives to the north of the river Pilcomayo, in union and amalgamated with the Emmages and Machicuys, within a short distance of the Quartel. Their actual enemies are the Tobas, who are allied to the Pitiligas, Chunipis and Aguilots, and who constitute a numerous horde on the other side of the Pilcomayo. " The remnants of the Lenguas are more especially joined and mingled with the Machicuys : in fact, they no longer form more than a dozen families, and the Mascoyian cacique is theirs as well. " There are payes or doctors, among the Lenguas, who administer nothing to a sick person beyond water or fruit, and who practise suction with the mouth for wounds and sore places. They interlard this operation with juggleries and songs, accompanied by gourds (porongos), shaken in the invalid's ears. These porongos are filled with little stones, and make a deafen- ing clatter. The payes are also sorcerers, and read the future as wrell as heal the sick. " Some girls, but the custom is not general, tattoo themselves in an indelible way at the age of puberty, an event which is always marked by rejoicing. This festival consists of a family gathering, during which the men intoxicate themselves with brandy, if they can obtain some by barter, or with a fermented liquor (chiclia) extracted from the fruit of the algarobo. " The tattooing of the women consists of four narrow and parallel blue lines, which descend from the top of the forehead .to the end of the nose, but are not continued on the upper Hosted by G00gle as far as the temples. 190.— A BOLIVIAN CHIEF. Hosted by G00gle ' Both sexes nierrp tVipir Pflrsi wlipn pYt.rpmAlv warmer an A r*c SOUTHERN BRANCH. 427 santly increasing, so that towards forty years of age the holes are of enormous dimensions. I measured several of these orifices, and found their average length to be two inches and a half, whilst their diameter was somewhat less considerable. The pieces of wood are solid, irregularly rounded, and about an inch and three-quarters in thickness at their widest part. The Lenguas often replace them by a long fragment of the bark of a tree, rolled spirally like a wire spring. This ear-ring is called a barbote. " The Lenguas comb their hair, which they cut at the top of the forehead, forming a lock which is drawn backwards, passing over the left ear, until it falls into the mass collected and tied behind with a riband or a woollen string. This body of hair, which is always black, straight, and generally very fine and even silky, then falls between the shoulders. The women do not always dress their hair in this way; I saw many who allowed it to hang in loose disorder. Moreover, though they may sometimes comb it, no one can say that these people take care of their hair ; their extreme filthiness argues to the contrary, for nothing can possibly be seen dirtier than this nation, which in this respect closely resembles the others. " The weapons of the Lenguas consist of a bow and arrows, which they carry behind their backs bound up in a hide ; they have also an axe, called by them achagy, borne in a similar manner. They carry in their hand a mahana, or staff, made of hard, heavy wood ; and to these is also added a spear tipped with iron, and they sometimes have the bolas and the lasso. They are excellent horsemen, riding barebacked with their wife and children, all on the same animal, and all, women and men, sitting in the same way. They use no bit, contenting themselves with a piece of stick ; they make reins from the fibres of the caraguata. " Their olive brown colour, darker than that of the Tobas, their prominent cheek-bones, small eyes, broad flat faces, slightly depressed noses, wide mouths, and large lips, give to the counte • nance of these savages a peculiar look which is not a little enhanced by a pair of ears that come down to the base of the neck, and with some individuals as far as the collar bone. The Lenguas, like all Indians, become hideous as they grow old. Hosted by G00gle 428 THE RED RACE. " A few weeks had passed since my excursion in this direction, when, as I was returning to Assumption from a fresh journey into the interior of the country^ I heard that the Quartel had been the object of $ completely unforeseen attack on the part of the Chaco tribes, and that, after an encounter in which two Indians had lost their lives, the troops had been able to recover the stolen cattle and to take some prisoners, who were immediately sent on to the capital, where they were confided to the keeping of the guard at the cavalry barrack near the arsenal and port. A more favourable opportunity could not have offered for continuing and completing my ethnological studies, so the next day I hastened to the building. " On arriving there I found a dozen Indians loaded with irons, seated here and there in the centre of a narrow court. They were covered with dirty European garments, in tattered ponchos, or draped in antique fashion with wretched blankets. Two boys, one eight and the other fifteen years old, were among the prison- ers, and all seemed sad and dejected. They preserved a profound silence, which I had some trouble to make them break. " Side by side with the Lenguas, whom I had seen at the Quartel, there were some Tobas and Machicuys ; but although known to the first, my interpreter questioned them in vain as to the motive of their attack. "The Tobas are generally of tall and erect stature. I measured three of them, and found their height to be respec- tively, 5 feet 10J inches, 5 feet 8^- inches, and 5 feet 6^ inches. Their muscular system is developed, and their well-formed limbs, like those of all the other nations of the Chaco, are terminated by hands and feet which would cause envy to an European. " They have an ordinary forehead, which is not retreating ; lively eyes, larger than those of the Lenguas, and narrow thin eyebrows. The iris is black, and they do not pluck out their eye- lashes. Their long regular nose is rounded at the end, where it becomes slightly enlarged, and their mouth, which is a little turned up at the angles, is better proportioned and smaller than that of the Lenguas, and is furnished with fine teeth, which are pre- served to a very advanced age. They are also without promi- nent cheek-bones, and their faces are not so broad as that of the other nation. " The Tobas seem to have renounced the use of the barbote, Hosted by G00gle \ 4% 1 a? 430 THE RED RACE. which at the time of Azara thej still wore, and none of them had any scar on the lower lip. Their ears were not pierced. They allow their hair to grow, letting it float freely without being tied ; a few, however, cut it straight across the forehead, a habit which is even practised by some of the women. " The colour of their skin is an olive brown, not so dark as that of the Lenguas, and contains no yellow tint ; but I confess to the great difficulty there is in expressing shades so varied in hue. "Nothing could draw the prisoners from their taciturnity; their countenances remained impassive, cold, and serious during all our questioning. A winning smile and interesting face are attributed by some travellers to the women while still young ; but their features deteriorate at an early age, and, like the men, they grow into repulsive ugliness. Their breasts, which are of moderate size and well formed at first, lengthen to such an extent as to enable them to suckle the children carried on their backs. " The Toba nation occupies, or, to speak more accurately, overruns a considerable extent of the Chaco plains. We meet its members on the banks of the Pilcomayo, from its mouth to the first spurs of the Andes, where they come in contact with the Chiriguanos, with whom they are often at war. "Being usually nomadic, the Tobas occupy themselves in fishing and hunting ; their weapons consist of arrows, makanas, long spears with iron points, and the bolas. Some of their tribes, more settled in their habits, add the produce of agri- culture to that of the chase, by cultivating maize, manioc, and potatoes. "The children of both sexes wear no covering; men and women roll a piece of cloth round their loins, or envelope them- selves in a cloak made from the skins of wild animals. Necklaces and bracelets of glass beads or small shells form the orna- ments of the females, while in some tribes the men twine round their bodies long white rows of beads, composed of little frag- ments of shells rounded like buttons, and strung together at regular intervals.' ' Machicuys. — Dr. Demersay does not share the opinion ex- pressed by M. d'Orbigny that the Machicuys may be nothing Hosted by G00gle SOUTHERN BRANCH. 431 more than a tribe of the Tobas, whose language they perhaps speak. According to the first-named traveller, the tongues of the two nations are different, and other distinctions separate them. "The Machicuys," says Dr. Demersay, "are more sedentary in their habits, are greater tillers of the soil, and are endowed with less fierce manners than the Lenguas, but they resemble them in the extraordinary dimensions of the lobe of the ears as well as in their weapons and method of fighting. Azara says that they differ in the shape of their barbote, which is said to resemble that of the Charruas. To reiterate an observation we have already made, we say that none of the Machicuys we have seen showed any marks- of the opening intended for the reception of this savage ornament, which they are abandon- ing, after the example of the Brazilian Botocudos, whilst certain tribes of the ancient continent religiously preserve it. In the same way the Berrys, a black nation on the borders of the Saubat, a tributary on the right bank of the Nile, pierce their lower lip, in order to insert a piece of crystal more than an inch long. " In height, formation, and proportions the Machicuys are similar to the Lenguas, and like them they have small eyes, broad faces, large mouths, flat noses, and wide nostrils. Their hair is allowed to hang loosely, and its thick curls partly cover their faces and fall on their shoulders. " The language of these nations, like that of all the Indians of the Chaco, is strongly accentuated and full of sounds that require an effort to be forced from the nose and throat; it contains double consonants extremely difficult to pronounce." Moxos and Ckiqaitos. — The interior and, to some extent, central regions of South America lying north of the Chaco, have been called by the Spaniards the "Provinces of the Moxos and Chiquitos," from the names of the two principal families of Indian race living in these countries. The Moxos inhabit vast plains, subject to frequent inundations and overrun by immense streams, on which they are. constantly obliged to navigate in their boats. They are the ichthyophagists of the river districts of the interior. The land of the Chiquitos is a succession of mountains incon- Hosted by G00gle numerous small rivers. They are husbandmen and have fh abodes. The Chiquitos live in clans, each of which has its own li1 102 .— EXAMIXADOR OF CHILI. village. The men go about naked, but the women wear a flow garment, which they like to ornament. These Indians are gii with a happy disposition and amiable manners ; they are social hospitable, inclined to gaiety, and pa^|o^aj^5|fgid of da ing and music. Thev have become permanently converted SOUTHERN BRANCH. 433 spherical head, almost always circular, a round, full face, promi- nent cheekbones, a low, arched forehead, a short nose, slightly flattened and with narrow nostrils, small horizontal eyes, full of -expression and vivacity, thin lips, fine teeth, a mediocre mouth, little beard, and long black, glossy hair, which does not whiten in extreme old age, but grows yellow. The manners of the Moxos are strongly analogous to those of the Chiquitos. Their colour is an olive brown, and their stature of the average height. They have not very vigorous limbs, their nose is short and not very broad, their mouth of medium size, their lips and cheekbones but little prominent ; their face is oval or round, and their countenances mild and rather merry. This race dwells on the confines of Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil. Before the conquest these tribes were established on the banks of the rivers and lakes. They were fishers, hunters, and more especially agriculturists. The chase was a relaxation for them ; fishing a necessity ; husbandry afforded them provisions and drinks. Their customs, however, were barbarous. Superstition made a Moxos sacrifice his wife in case she miscarried, and his children if they happened to be twins. The mother rid herself of her offspring if it wearied her. Marriage coujd be dissolved at the will of the parties to it, and polygamy was frequent. These Indians were all, more or less, warriors; but tradition and writings have only preserved for us the memorials of one single nation, the members of which were cannibals and devoured their prisoners. The counsels of the missionaries have modified the manners of this people, without removing all its savage usages. Both the Moxos and the Chiquitos have broad shoulders, extremely full chests, and most robust bodies. Each of these two races includes a certain number of hordes which we see no necessity for alluding to particularly here, for their half wild habits resemble those of the tribes we have just commented on ; and for similar reasons we shall pass over in silence the other races ranked in the Pampean family, and whose names have been enumerated in a preceding page. Guarany Family. The Guarany Family is spread over an immense space, from the Eio de La Plata as far as the Caribbean Sea. Its principal Hosted by G00gle 434 THE RED RACE. characteristics consist of a yellowish complexion, a little tinged with red, a middle stature, a very heavy frame, a but slightly arched and prominent forehead, oblique eyes turned up at the outer angle, a short, narrow nose, a moderate-sized mouth, thin lips, cheekbones without much prominence, a round, full face, effeminate features, and a pleasing countenance. D'Orbigny has established two divisions only in this family, namely, the Guaranis and the Botocvdos. Guaranis. — At the period of the discovery of South America, all that portion of the continent lying to the east of the Paraguay and of a line drawn from the sources of that river to the delta of the Orinoco, was inhabited by numberless indigenous nations belonging to two great families. One of these families was that of the Guaranis, diffused over the whole of Paraguay, and allied with the wild tribes of Brazil ; the other included the races occupying the more northern provinces, and extending to the gulf of Mexico. The Indians appertaining to both these families strongly resemble each other in features as well as complexion, and d'Orbigny attributes to them the same physical type, one marked by a yellowish colour, medium height, foreheads that do not recede, and eyes frequently oblique and always raised at the outer angle. The entirely exceptional aptitude which the Guarany nation has evinced for entering on the path of social improvement, renders it one of the most interesting in South America. The Southern Guaranis, or natives of Paraguay, include at the same time the tribes who have submitted to the sway of the missions, in the establishments which the Jesuits have formed in the country, and others who still roam in freedom throughout the forests of that province. Besides the Guaranis, properly so called who are all Christians, and inhabit thirty-two rather extensive villages situated on the borders of the Parana, the Paraguay, and the Uruguay rivers, there exists a certain number of wild hordes belonging to the same race, who remain hidden in the depths of the woods. These tribes bear names derived in most instances from those of the rivers or mountains in whose vicinity they, dwell, and among the principal of them are mentioned the Topas, Tobatinguas, Cayuguas, Gadigues, Magachs, etc. M. Demersay, who has visited the Jesuit establishments in Para- Hosted by Go ogle SOUTHERN BRANCH. 425 guay, also traversed the forests inhabited by the wild races of which we are speaking, and the results of his observations were published by him in the "Tour du Monde" in 1865. We shall avail ourselves here of those parts of his narrative which refer to the savage nations of Paraguay. " The history of the American races," says M. Demersay, " might be comprised in a few pages. Some have accepted the semi-servitude which the conquerors imposed on them; the others, more rebellious, preferred to struggle, and have been destroyed ; those who still struggle will also perish. The nations which chose subjection rather than death, have, by mingling their blood in strong proportions with that of the Europeans, only dis- appeared as a race in order to enter as an integral and sometimes dominant element into the American nationalities. The great family of the Guaranis forms the most striking example of this intimate fusion offered to the notice of the ethnologist. " But in its midst, side by side with the unsubdued hordes of the Grand Chaco, so remarkable for their fine proportions, there exists yet another tribe, small in numbers, whose ranks grow thinner every day, and which on the eve of its disappearance, has bequeathed intact to the present generation, along with its complete independence, its creeds, its customs, and the glorious traditions of its ancestors. " At the time of their discovery, the Payagiias, as this valiant race is called, were divided into two tribes, the Gadigues and the Magachs, who lived on the banks and numerous islands of the Eio Paraguay, towards 21° and 25° S. latitude. Their dwelling places were by no means fixed ; masters of the river and jealous of its control, they started from Lake Xarayes, and made distant excursions on the Parana as far as Corrientes and Santa Fe on one side, and to Salto Chico on the other. " A rather rational etymology which has been proposed for the name of these Indians, is that of the two Guarany words ' pai * and ' aguaa,' which signify, ' tied to the oar,' a meaning quite in unison with their habits. In the term ' Paraguay/ applied as the denomination of the river, before it became the name of the province, some have wished to perceive a corruption of 'Payagua,' a likely enough derivation, and one which seems to us highly admissible. " Whatever there may be in this supposition, the value of JF2 Hosted by G00gle 436 THE KED RACE. which we shall not discuss here, this unconquered and crafty nation was during two centuries the most redoubtable adversary of the Spaniards. The writers on the conquest, the works of Azara, the ' Historical Essay ' of Funes, and numerous docu- ments preserved in the archives of Assumption, contain a recital of their daring enterprises. " . . . What their numbers were in the first half of the XVIth century it is impossible to say with certainty; but the old narratives, which 'do not seem on this point to deserve the reproach of exaggeration more than once and with justice attributed to them, estimate them as no fewer than several thousand combatants. In Azara's time the entire tribe scarcely reckoned a thousand souls, and at the present day it cannot count two hundred. " Their stature is remarkable, and unquestionably surpasses that of most nations of the globe. The measurements of eight individuals, taken at random, would justify the application of this epithet to the Payaguas, as they gave me an average of 5ft. 9in. The women's height is no less striking : that of four females over twenty was — the first and second, 5 feet ; the third, 5 feet 2 inches, and the fourth, 5 feet 3| inches ; or an average of 5 feet 1\ inches. Many conclusions may be drawn from this double series of measurements. On comparing the average stature of the Pay- aguas with that of mankind in general, which physiologists agree in fixing at about 5 feet 6 inches, it will be seen that the diffe- rence in favour of the former is no less than 3 inches. And further, if we place in comparison the measurements taken by accurate travellers of the races which pass for the tallest on the globe, of the Patagonians for instance, we find that their average height as stated by M. d'Orbigny is 5 feet 7 inches. Consequently the Payaguas actually surpass by two inches the height of a race which has from time immemorial been regarded as fabulously tall. " The Payaguas are invariably lanky, none but the women ever showing signs of corpulence. Their shoulders are broad and the muscles of their chests, arms, and backs display a development produced by constant use of the oar, for they live in their canoes; but, as a species of compensation, the predominance of the pro- portions of the upper limbs causes the lower extremities to appear slight and meagre. " Their skin, smooth and soft to the touch, like that of the Hosted by G00gle , '-'■ .; ^sf**<- *s *-j *r. jychw\\s 193. — A PARAGUAYAN MESSENGER. Goosle Hosted by LjOOgle tives of the New Continent, is of an olive-brown sham, but they take good care not to move far from the rivers, * those tribes of famous horsemen would soon overcome them the open country. " This nation, as the reader has doubtless surmised, lives in a . ■ 1 ■ R ■ . »z7i^ 195.— INDIAN WOMAN OF BRAZIL. ite of absolute liberty and complete independence of the vernment of the Paraguayan Republic, which imposes neither c nor statute labour upon it, but on the contrary pays the yaguas for any services that are exacted of them, whether messengers on the river or as guides in the expeditions rected against the wild hordes that wander along the right nk. " . . . Being desirous to become acquainted w^^Jffljd to be Le to sketch at my ease, in the midst of all lesava^ luxury 442 THE BED RACE. tions, I contrived to get him to come to my house arrayed in the emblems of his high dignity and accompanied by some other Indians. The promise of a certain quantity of his beloved liquor, coupled with the prospect of an evening's drunkenness, speedily got the better of his reluctance. " On the day named the paye came to see me. He was an old man, somewhat bent with years, but with nothing repulsive in his countenance, notwithstanding the disfiguration of the features, which is always premature and so remarkable among the natives. His hair was still black and confined in a fillet bordered with beadwork, over which was a tuft of feathers, while nandu plumes waved behind his head ; a necklace of bivalve shells was on his neck, and from it hung, as a trophy, a whistle made from the arm- bone of an enemy. He was quite naked beneath his sleeveless and collaiiess vest which consisted of two jaguar-skins, and wore strings of capivaras' claws round his ankles. Finally, his right hand contained an elongated gourd, and he held in his left a long tube of hard wroocl, which I had some difficulty in recognizing as a pipe. " The curtain rises. The sorcerer gave the pipe to his companion, whose duty consisted in lighting it, and, taking it again, inhaled several puffs which he blew noisily into the calabash through the orifice bored in it ; then, without removing it from his lips, he began shouting, sometimes slowly and sometimes rapidly, uttering alternately the syllables Ha, ta', and 'to, to, to', with extraordinary, inexpressible, reiterations of voice and piercing yells. He gave way at the same time to violent contor- tions, and executed a measured series of leaps, now on one foot, and now on both joined together. This performance did not last any length of time, and on a pretext of fatigue he was not long without coming to a stand-still. A bumper was indis- pensable in order to set him on his legs again, and the monotonous chant immediately recommenced. " My drawings being finished, I at last broke up the sitting to the general satisfaction of my guests, and dismissed them, having first purchased his pipe and whistle from the paye. The former article was made of hard and heavy wood and covered with regular tracings engraved on the surface with a good deal of skill. It was about a foot and a half long, ornamented with gilt nails, and pierced by a tube which was widened at one end and terminated Hosted by G00gle long other neighbouring nations, as well as among the lobas d Matacos on the banks of the Pilconiayo. It gives an ;a of those enormous cigars made from a roll of palm or >acco leaves, which played so important a part in Brazil, in 3 ceremonies of the Tupinambas, and among the Caraibs of j Antilles, on all occasions when the question of peace or 196.— NATIVE OF MANAOS, BRAZIL. r had to be decided, when the shades of ancestors were to conjured up, etc., and which the first navigators mistook for ■ches." The Western Guaranis include the tribes known by the names Guarayis, Chiriguanos, and Cirionos, the first of which have en converted by the Jesuits. Between the province of the Chi- itos and that of the Moxos there are still some hordes of wild larayis. The uncivilized Chiriguanos are barbarians, very •midable to their neighbours. The natives of aJnindred and :tv villages of the Andes, comprised betweened&e great Chaco 444 THE RED RACE. Sierra, speak the Guarany language in all its purity. The barbarous Cirionos, among whom a dialect of that tongue is in use, dwell to the north of Santa Cruz. The Eastern Guaranis of Brazil include the Brazilian abori- gines. The general language of the country does, not seem to differ more from Guarany, than Portuguese does from Spanish. The Caryis, Tameyi, Tapinaquis, Timmimnes, Tabayaris, Tupin- ambis, Apontis, Tapigoas, and several other tribes occupy the maritime districts situated to the south of the mouth of the Amazon, speaking the Tiipi tongue with little or no altera- tion. During their voyage to Brazil, of which an account was published in the " Tour du Monde," in 1868, M. and Madame Agassiz visited many Indian tribes, and examined their habita- tions in the midst of the woods. We extract a few pages from their description. "We arrive at the sitio," writes Madame Agassiz, "and disembark. These dwellings are usually located on the banks of a lake or river, within a stone's throw of the shore in order that fishing and bathing may be better within reach. But this one was more retired, being placed at the extremity of a pretty by-path winding beneath the trees, and on the summit of a little hill, the slopes of which at the other side plunged into a broad and deep ravine through which flowed a rivulet. The ground beyond rose undulating in uneven lines, on which an eye ac- customed to the uniformly flat country of the upper Amazon cannot rest without pleasure. Wait for the time of the rains, and the brook, swollen by the increase of the river, will almost bathe the foot of the house, which, from the top of the little eminence, at present commands the valley and the embanked bed of the tiny stream. Great, consequently, is the difference between the appearance of the same places in the dry and the wet seasons. The residence consists of several buildings, the most remarkable of which is a long open hall in which the brancas (whites) of Manaos and of the neighbourhood dance when they come, as is not infrequent, to spend the night at the sitio, in high festivity. " I learned these particulars from the old Indian lady who did me the honours of the house. A low wall, from three to four feet in height, skirted tins shed. At its sides and along Hosted by G00gle ds were closed from floor to roof by thick blinds made of ittering palm-leaves, as fine as they were handsome, and of pretty straw colour. In a corner we found an immense ibroidery loom (Penelope's was doubtless like it), which is occupied at the moment by a hammock of palm fibre, unfinished work of the ' senhora dona', or mistress of the 197. —BRAZILIAN NEGRESSES. iuse, who allowed me to see the way in which she used the ichine. She squatted herself on a little low bench, in front the frame, and showed me that the two rows of cross reads were separated by a thick piece of polished wood in e shape of a flat rule. The shuttle is thrown between these o threads and the woof is drawn close by a sharp blow of the ick rule. I was then led to admire some hanjpc^^^arious lours and textures which were being arranged for the accom- and her daughter, a very pretty Indian. The direction of evei thing devolves on the elder of the two ladies; the master absent, as he holds a captain's commission in the army operati against Paraguay. 198.— BRAZILIAN DWELLING. " On the same carefully-kept piece of ground where the hal] have described is situated, there are several casinhas or smj buildings, more or less close to each other, which are cover with thatch, and merely consist of a single apartment (fig. 19* Then comes a larger cottage, with earthen walls and bare floe containing two or three rooms, and withhold wQa^glf erandah TVnnf- riii« ifi flip rvrivafp olmrlp nf flip cpnVim*o A li++l^ lr\rr7 ff^fgV frfertafl ■ H^^J^^ :har: 30g[C 109 VFRRrtS ftF HAHTA. 448 THE BED RACE. No place could be better kept than the courtyard of this sitio, where two or three negresses have just been set to work with brooms of thin branches in their hands. " The manioc and cocoa plantation surrounds these buildings, with a few coffee trees peeping out here and there. There is a difficulty in judging of the extent of these farms, as they are irregular, and comprise a certain variety of plants ; manioc, cocoa, coffee, and even cotton being cultivated together in confusion. But this part of the estate, like all the rest of the establishment, seemed larger and better cared for than those usually seen. As we were departing, our Indian hostess brought me a nice basket filled with eggs and abacatys, or alligator's pears, according to the local name. We returned home just in time for the ten o'clock meal, which draws everyone together, both idlers and workers. The sportsmen had returned from the forest, laden with tucanas, parrots, paroquets, and a great variety of other birds, while the fishermen brought fresh treasures for M. Agassiz. " We left the dinner- table, and while taking coffee under the trees, the president proposed an excursion on the lake at sunset. . . . . The little craft glided between the glowing sunset and the glitter of the deep sheet of water, seeming to borrow its hues from each. It rapidly drew near, and was soon quite close, when a burst of joyous shouts broke forth, and w^as merrily responded to by us. Then side by side the two boats descended the stream together, the guitar passing from one to the other, as Brazilian songs alternated with Indian airs. Nothing could possibly be imagined bearing the national impress more strongly marked, more deeply imbued with tropical tints, more characteristic, in fine, than this scene on the lake. When we arrived at the landing- place the rosy and gold-tinged mists had become transformed into a mass of white or ashen-grey vapour, the last rays of the sun were fled, and the moon was shining at its full. In ascending the gentle slope of the hill, someone suggested a dance on the grass, and the young Indian girls formed a quadrille. Although civilization had mingled its usages with their native customs, there were yet many original traits in their movements, and this con- ventional dance was deprived of much of its artificial character. At length we returned to the house, where dancing and singing recommenced, whilst groups seated on the ground here and there Hosted by G00gle ♦ »" K ft'. 200.— NATIVES OF FRENCH GUYANA. 450 THE RED RACE. laughed and chatted, all, men and women, smoking with the same gusto/ The use of tobacco, almost universal among females of the lower class, is not altogether confined to them. More than one senhora delights to puff her cigarette as she rocks in her hammock during the warm hours of the day." Fig. 200 repre- sents some natives of French Guyana, who closely resemble the Brazilian negroes we have just mentioned. The Ouragas are affiliated to the Brazilio-Guarany race, with a few other tribes very closely allied to them. They form one of the nations most widely spread over the northern parts of South America. They were formerly in possession of the banks and islands of the Amazon river for a distance of five hundred miles from the mouth of the Bio Nabo. The Caribbee race has a close affinity to the Guarany. The Indians who have given their name to this group, one of the most numerous and extensively scattered of the southern continent, are those celebrated Caribs who in the sixteenth century occupied all the islands from Porto Bico to Trinidad, and the whole of the Atlantic coast comprised between the mouth of the Orinoco and that of the Amazon, that is to say, as far as the Brazilian frontier. The Tamanacs belong to the same family, and live on the right bank of the Orinoco, but their numbers are at the pre- sent day greatly reduced. The same remark applies to the Arawacs or Araocas, to the Guaranns, who are said to build their houses upon trees, to the Gitayquerias, Cumanogots, Phariagots, Chaymas, &c. Humboldt has written of the latter : — "The expression of countenance of the Chaymas, without being harsh and fierce, has in it something sedate and gloomy. The forehead is small and but little prominent; the eyes are black, sunken, and lengthy, being neither so obliquely set nor so small as those of the Mongolian race. Yet the corners per- ceptibly slant upwards towards the temples; the eyebrows are black or dark brown, thin, and not much arched ; the lids fringed with very long eyelashes ; and their habit of drooping them, as if heavy with languor, softens the women's look and makes the eye thus veiled appear smaller than it really is." Hosted by G00gle Brazil, have been cannibals, and are still to the present day most savage of all Americans. They wear collars of human th as ornaments. Perpetually wandering and completely ted, they take a pleasure adding to their natural iness, and impart a more idsive appearance to their mtenances by a habit they re of slitting their under and ears, in order to in- duce "barbotes " into the filings thus made. [n his " Travels in Brazil," Biard saw some Boto- los. One, who seemed to q to be the chief, carried, e his companions, in an ming in the lower lip, ' barbote " consisting of a of wood somewhat larger m a five-shilling piece. s made use of this projection as a little table, cutting up on with the traveller's knife, a morsel of smoked meat which had sn only to be slipped into his mouth. This method of utilizing s lip as a table struck M. Biard as thoroughly original. The nrades of this Botocudos had also large pieces of wood in the >es of their ears. 201. — BOTOCUDOS. Hosted by GoOgle CHAPTEK II. NOETHEEN BBANCH. The members of the North American Branch present more decided differences among themselves than those in the southern division, so far as race is concerned, but their characteristics are merged one in the other. Nevertheless, the populations inhabit- ing respectively the south, the north-east, and the north-west can be considered as forming so many distinct families, which we shall pass in review in succession. Southern Family. The southern family of the Northern Branch still preserves much resemblance to the families of the southern branch which we have just been considering. The complexion of its members is rather fair, the forehead depressed, and the figure tolerably weE proportioned. This group embraces a great number of tribes speaking different languages, peculiar to the central part of the northern continent. The principal among these nations are the Aztecs, or primitive Mexicans, and the Moya and Lenca Indians. Aztecs. — When the Spaniards landed in Mexico, they found there a people whose customs were far removed from those of savage life. They were very expert in the practice of different useful and ornamental arts, and their knowledge was rather extensive, but thorough cruelty could always be laid to their charge. The Aztecs were intelligent and hard-working cultivators. They knew how to work mines, prepare metals, and set precious stones as ornaments. Superb monuments had been erected by Hosted by G00gle smorials of their history. Those who dwelt in the region of the esent Mexico were advanced in the sciences ; they were pro- indly imbued with the sentiment of religion ; and their sacred remonies were full of pomp, but accompanied by expiatory orifices revolting in their barbarism. They carried their annals ck to very remote antiquity. These annals were traced in V*\\ivM 202. — INDIAN OF THE MEXICAN COAST. torical paintings, the traditional explanation of which was parted by the natives to some of their conquerors, as well as to ?w Spanish and Italian ecclesiastics. Che principal events recorded in these archives relate to the ^rations of three different nations, who, leaving the distant ions of the north-west, arrived successively in Anahuac. ey were the Toltecs, Chichimecas, and Nahmtlac is spangled with striking colours and witfeteya^^cffltterns, an the men possess a special talent for draping themselves orracefiill its of Mexico should be studied is in the markets (fig. 207). Lere may you see Indians, Creoles, and foreigners, beggars rags and rich citizens, black frock coats, embroidered deer- n jackets, threadbare uniforms, soldiers, muleteers, porters, >nks of all shades, shod and shoeless Carmelites, all elbowing *h other fraternally. There Basil throws the lengthening 1 206.— MEXICAN FICADOR. tdow of his fantastic head-gear on the wall of the neighbour- ; church; there dealers in hats, poultry, or wooden trays it their wares to buyers; there pretty fruit and flower girls, y servant maids of some decent house, or winsome Chinas ,h sparkling eyes, pass to and fro draped in their rebossos. ey bear on the upturned palms of the left hand, on a level h the shoulder, and in the most artistic manner, a basket full green plants, or the graceful red earthenware cantaro painted i glazed, and filled with water. Hosted by Google riirnncrh this noisv prnwrl t.ViA water- f»Rrri fir (ammdor)* clothed in J — 1 broad strap to his forehead, which is protected by a little c 207.— THE ROLDAUf BRIDGE MABKET, MEXICO. of leather ; another band passing acrossost4kM5dpgif the cro come acquainted with Mexico, it is among the wer orders that he must udy the country. The ;ople are good ; eager for lowledge, notwithstand- g the want of instruction, id full of energy in spite ■ their long bondage. He >ed be on his guard against Le higher classes only, a nail minority spoiled by ie priests, whose influ- lce is all-powerful. The fnoranee of the monks, ho swarm in this land, doubled by an intoler- ole vanity that inspires tern with antipathy to all rogress. The people of Mexico •e very simple in their ibits. Broth (pilchero) id the national dish, /ri- fe* (beans), form the ordi- iry fare of the middle ass, to which a stew of uced duck is sometimes Ided. They allay their irst with pure water, con- ined in an immense glass, hieh holds from one to to quarts. This flagon is aced in the centre of the ble, and is the only one at appears on the board, om which decanters and 208. — MEXICAN HATTEE. .AJ/I A , «i»A„. 460 1HE RED RACE. ished. Each in turn steeps his lips in this cup, returning it to its place or passing it to his neighbour. Besides, Mexicans in general do not drink except at the end of the meal. In the evening the circle is swelled by a few friends ; guitars are taken down from the wall, and some simple ballads are sung to mournful airs, or they dance to the same measure. The Aztecs, or primitive Mexicans, like their predecessors, the Toltecs, were, as we have said, strangers in Anahuac. Before their arrival this plateau had been inhabited by different races, some of which had acquired a certain degree of civilization, whilst others were utterly barbarous. The Aztecs spread themselves extensively in Central America. The Olmecas are mentioned among the most ancient tribes, and they are supposed to have peopled the West India Islands and South America. This nation shared the soil of Mexico with the Xicalaucas, Coras, Tepanecas, Tarascas, Mixtecas, Tza/potecas, and the Othomis. The last named and the Totonacs were two barbarous races occupying the country near Lake Tezcuco, pre- viously to the coming of the Chichimecas. Whilst all the other known languages of America are polysyllabic, that of the Othomis is monosyllabic. Farther to the north, and beyond the northern frontiers of the Mexican empire, dwelt the Huaxtecas. The Tarascas inhabited the wide and fertile regions of Mechoacan, to the north of Mexico, and were always independent of that kingdom. Their sonorous and harmonious tongue differed from all the others. In civilization and the arts they advanced side by side with the Mexicans, who were never able to subdue them ; but their king submitted without resistance to the rule of the Spaniards. Moyas and Lencas. — These are tribes which still live in a wild state in the forests situated between the Isthmus of Panama and that of Thuantepec, but an inquiry into their manners and customs would offer no features of interest. The life of savage nations exhibits an uniformity which greatly abridges our task. North-eastern Family. In the fifteenth century the North-eastern family occupied Hosted by G00gle NOBTHEBN BRANCH. „ 461 that immense expanse of North America which is comprised between the Atlantic Ocean and the Kocky Mountains, but all its nations are now reduced to a few far from numerous tribes, confined to the west of the Mississippi. The distinguishing qualities of the red race are strongly marked among these groups. A complexion of a light cinnamon- colour, a lengthened head, a long and aquiline nose, horizontal eyes, a depressed forehead, a robust constitution, and a tall stature constitute their principal physical characteristics, to which must be added senses sharpened to an extraordinary degree. They have a habit of painting their bodies, and especially their faces, red. Their disposition is proud and independent, and they support pain with stoical courage. Almost all these Indian tribes have already disappeared in consequence of the furious war waged upon them by the Europeans. Those that lived in olden times on the declivities of the mountains facing the Atlantic are very nearly extinct* Among such are the Hurons, Iroquois, Algonquins, and the Natchez, rendered famous by Chateaubriand, and the Mohicansr whom Cooper has immortalized. We cannot speak detailedly here of these different nations, but in order to give an idea of them we shall open Chateaubriand's " Voyage en Amerique," and, having quoted a few lines from itr we will make the reader acquainted with the pith of the observa- tions made in our own day in these same countries by contemn porary travellers. Speaking of the Muscogulges and the Simnioles, Chateaubriand writes in the following terms : — " The Simnioles and the Muscogulges are rather tall in stature r and, by an extraordinary contrast, their wives are the smallest race of women known in America ; they seldom depass a height of four feet two or three inches ; their hands and feet resemble those of an European girl nine or ten years old. But nature has com- pensated them for this kind of injustice : their figure is elegant and graceful ; their eyes are black, extremely long, and full of languor and modesty. They lower their eyelids with a sort of voluptuous bashfulness ; if a person did not see them when they speak, he would believe himself listening to children uttering only half- formed words." The great writer passed along the borders of the lake to which Hosted by G00gle 462 THE RED RACE. its name has been given by the Iroquois colony of the Onondagas, and visited the " Sachem " of that people : — "He was," says Chateaubriand, "an old Iroquois in the strictest sense of the word. His person preserved the memory of the former customs and bygone times of the desert : large, pinked ears, pearl hanging from the nose, face streaked with various colours, little tuft of hair on the top of the head, blue tunic, cloak of skins, leathern belt, with its scalping-knife and tomahawk, tattooed arm, mocassins on his feet, and a porcelain necklace in his hand." The following is the sketch of an Iroquois : — " He was of lofty stature, with broad chest, muscular legs, and sinewy arms. His large round eyes sparkled with independence; his whole mien was that of a hero. Shining on his forehead might be seen high combinations of thought and exalted sentiments of soul. This fearless man was not in the least astonished at firearms when for the first time they were used against him ; he stood firm to the whistling of bullets and the roar of cannon as if he had been hearing both all his life, and appeared to heed them no more than he would a storm. As soon as he could procure himself a musket, he used it better than an European. He did not abandon for it his tomahawk, his knife, or his bow and arrows, but added to them the carbine, pistol, poniard, and axe, and seemed never to possess arms sufficient for his valour. Doubly arrayed in the murderous weapons of Europe and America, with his head decked with bunches of feathers, his ears pinked, his face smeared black, his arms dyed in blood, this noble champion of the New World became as formidable to behold, as he was to contend against, on the shore which he defended foot by foot against the foreigner." With this terrible portrait Chateaubriand contrasts the blithe countenance of the Huron, who had nothing in common with the Iroquois but language : — " The gay, sprightly, and volatile Huron, of rash, dazzling valour, and tall, elegant figure, had the air of being born to be the ally of the French." We now come to travellers of our own day. Fig. 210 is a sketch of the costumes of the wild Indians dwelling at the foot of the Eocky Mountains in Missouri, and who bear the name of Creeks. Hosted by G00gle 464 THE RED RACE. In his travels through the United States and Canada, M. H~ Deville had an opportunity of visiting an establishment of Iroquois, These savages were remarkable for their reddish colour and coarse features. They wore round hats with broad brims, and robed themselves in Spanish fashion in a piece of dark cloth. The manufacture of the native coverings for the legs and feet forms the principal occupation of the women, and under the pretext of purchasing some of their handiwork M. Deville entered several Iroquois dwellings. Divested of the thick mantle worn by them out of doors, the women had assumed a long, coloured smock-frock with tight-fitting pantaloons that reached to the ankles, and their varnished shoes allowed coarse worsted stockings to be seen. Earrings and a gold necklace • constituted their chief ornament. Their hair is drawn up to the top of the head and tied there in a knot. To say that their features are agreeable would be untrue, but in early youth their figures are rather handsome. Work, order, and cleanliness reign in their household. Their brothers and husbands are wood-cutters, steersmen, or conductors of rafts. The same traveller met with some Chippeway Indians on the heights of Lake Pepin. Their stature was tall, but they had coarse features, and a skin of a very dark reddish colour. Half their face was covered by a thick layer of vermilion extending as far as their hair, which was plaited over the crown. They wore long leather gaiters, tied at the sides by innumerable thongs, and over a sort of tattered blouse was thrown a large woollen blanket, which completely covered them. One individual, armed with a long steel blade shaped like a dagger, had stuck his pipe in his hair. In his " Voyage dans les Mauvaises Terres du Nebraska," M. de Girardin (of Maine-et-Loire) describes his journey across part of the Missouri basin occupied by some free and wild Indians, He brought back with him sketches and illustrations of those tribes, the principal among which are the Blachfeet, and the Dacotas, or Sioux, and was present at a grand council of the latter nation, The chiefs of the various clans, clad in their most brilliant costumes, harangued the warriors, whilst a score of young; braves, without any other covering than a thick coat of vermilion Hosted by G00gle Lciful manoeuvres. The horses were painted yellow, red, and ite, and had their long tails decked with bright-coloured thers. A.n immense tent, composed of five or six lodges of bison-skins, s erected in the centre of the camp. The chiefs and principal rriors formed a circle, in the midst of which the agent, the 211. — ENCAMPMENT OF SIOUX INDIANS. remor of Fort St. Pierre, and his interpreters were stationed, cording to Indian custom, the grand chief lit the calumet of ice, a magnificent pipe of red stone, the stem of which was a •d long and adorned with feathers of every hue. After some passioned orations the council refused the travellers permission pass over their territory in order to reach that of the Black- t. Fig. 211 represents the encampment of these Indians visited M. de Girardin : fig. 212 is a sketch of one of their horsemen, 1 fig. 213 a likeness of a Sioux warrior, all from /the nencil of ° Hosted by s same gentleman. in shape, and made of bison-skins. Kemarkable for their wh ness and cleanliness these habitations were covered with paintings which portrayed warriors smoking the calumet, hor stags, and dogs. Numerous freshly scalped locks were han£ at the end of long poles. At the side of each tent, a kind of tri supported quivers, shields of ox-hide, and spears embellished \ 212.— SIOUX WARRIOR. brilliant plumage. A few young warriors of strongly mar features, with aquiline noses and herculean forms, but hideoi daubed in black and white paint, were engaged in firing arr< at a ball which was rolled along the ground or thrown i the air. The chiefs made the travellers seat themselves on skins of be and bisons, and conversed with the interpreter, whilst M. Girardin remained exposed to the curiosity of the young fol women, and children. The girls ventured so far as to search pockets and extract from them his Vnifp -ntm/Mla ar\A ™ -/ I- o 213. —A SIOUX CHIEF. Hosted by G00gle 468 THE RED RACE. the traveller took it into his head to put a little powder into the hand of the pretty inquisitor and lit it by means of a glass lens, an incident which gave a tremendous fright to the assemblage. During a journey to the north-east of America in 1867, M. L. Simonin had an opportunity of visiting a Sioux village, and we avail ourselves of a few of his descriptions. It consisted of about a hundred huts, made with poles and bison skins, or pieces of stitched cloth. The entrance to them was by a low narrow hole covered over with a beaver skin. A fire blazed in the centre of each hovel, and around it were pots and kettles for the repast. The smoke which escaped at the top rendered this abode intolerable. Beds, mattresses, cooking utensils, quarters of wild bison, some raw, others dried and smoked, were scat- tered here and there. Half-naked children, girls and boys, scampered about outside, as well as troops of dogs that con- stituted at once their protectors, their vigilant sentinels, and their food. M. Simonin went inside many of the huts, wThere warriors were silently playing cards, using leaden balls for stakes. Others, accompanied by the noise of discordant singing and tam- bourines, were playing at a game resembling the Italian "inora," the score of which was marked with arrows stuck in the ground. Some tents, in which sorcery, or " great medicine," was being practised, were prohibited to the visitor. The women were sitting in a ring round some of the wigwams, doing needle-work, ornamenting necklaces or mocassins with beads, or tracing patterns on bison skins. Some old matrons were preparing hides stretched on stakes, by rubbing them with freestone and steel chisels set in "bone handles. The squaws of the Sioux, on whom, moreover, all domestic cares fall, are far from handsome. They are the slaves of the man who purchases them for a horse or the skin of a bison. The great Sioux nation numbers about thirty-five thousand in- dividuals. The same gentleman from whom we have just been quoting, was enabled to make some observations among the Crows, a tribe of Prairie Indians who are neighbours of the Sioux. Their features are broadly marked, their stature gigantic, and their frames athletic, while, according to M. Simonin, their majestic Hosted by G00gle NORTHERN BRANCH. 469 countenances recall the types of the Roman Caesars as we see them delineated on antique medals. The traveller was admitted into the hut of the chiefs, where the " Sachems " were seated in a circle, and as he touched their hands successively, they uttered a guttural " a hou," a sound which serves as a salutation among the Red Skins. He smoked the calumet. These men had their cheeks tattooed in vermilion. They were scarcely covered; one had a woollen blanket, the next a buffalo hide or the incomplete uniform of an officer, while the upper part of another's body was naked. Several wore collars or eardrops of shells or animals' teeth. Hanging from the neck of one was a silver medal bearing the effigy of a President of the United States, which he had received when he went on a mission to Washington in 1853 ; and a horse, rudely carved in the same metal, adorned the breast of another of their number. M. Simonin was afterwards present at a council of the Crow Indians, but we do not intend to give any report of this conference of savages, of which, however, the reader may form some idea by casting a glance at fig. 214. In dealing with the relations existing between the wild Indians of North America and the civilized inhabitants, that is to' say, the Americans of the United States, M. Simonin enters into some interesting reflections which we believe we ought to reproduce. "A singular race," says M. Simonin, "is that of the Eed Skins, among whom Nature has so lavishly apportioned the finest land existing on the globe, a rich alluvial soil, deep, level, and well watered ; still this race has not yet emerged from the primitive stage which must be everywhere traversed by humanity at the outset — the stage of hunters and nomads, the age of stone ! If the Whites had not brought them iron, the Indians would still use flint weapons, like man before the Deluge, who sheltered himself in caverns and was contem- porary in Europe with the mammoth. Beyond the chase and war, the wild tribes of North America shun work; women, among them, perform all labour. What a contrast to the toiling, busy population around them, whose respect for women is so profound ! This population hems them in, completely surrounds them at the present day, and all is over with the Red Skins if they do not consent to retire into the land reserved for them. Hosted by G00gle m mwm i 1 1 I \ : I ; < 1 W j ] I a! K 1 • fflMl 11 F* j a i ' ' ifllflHWfll 1 r h * IS ■^ ™JS? 3f ;' e9» ! ' sf-- » i":| ■W ;'R _^x H 1 (} , NORTHERN BRANCH. 471 " And even there will industry and the arts spring up? How • poorly the Red race is gifted for music and singing is well known: the fine arts have remained in infancy among them; and writing, unless it consists in rude pictorial images, is utterly unknown. They "barely know how to trace a few bead patterns on skins, and although these designs are undoubtedly often happily grouped and the colours blended with a certain harmony, that is all. Industry, apart from a coarse preparation of victuals and the tanning of hides and dressing of furs, is also entirely null. The Indian is less advanced than the African negro, who knows at least how to weave cloths and dye them. The Navajoes, alone, manufacture some coverings with wool. " The free Indians of the Prairies, scattered between the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains, may be reckoned at about a hundred thousand, while all the Indians of North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, are estimated at four times that number. These calculations may possibly be slightly defective, statistics or any accurate census being quite wanting. The Red men themselves never give more than a notation of their tents or lodges, but the assemblage of individuals contained in each of these differs according to the tribe, and sometimes in the same tribe ; hence the impossibility of any mathematically exact com- putation. "In the north of the Prairies the great family of the Sioux numbering thirty-five thousand is remarkable above all others. The Crows, Bigbellies, Blackfeet, &c, who occupy Idaho and Montana, form, when taken altogether, a smaller population than the Sioux — probably about twenty thousand. In the centre and south, the Pawnees, Arapahoes, Shiennes, Yutes, Kayoways, Comanches, Apaches, &c, united, certainly exceed forty thousand in number. The territories of Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico are those which these hordes overrun. The Pawnees are cantoned in Nebraska, in the neighbourhood of the Pacific Railway, and the Yutes in the ' parks ' of Colorado. " These races possess many characteristics in common ; they are nomadic, that is to say, they occupy no fixed place, live by fishing, or above all by hunting, and follow the wild buffalo in its migrations everywhere. " A thoroughly democratic regime and a sort of communism control the relations of members of the same tribe with. Hosted by G00gle 472 THE RED RACE. 'each other. The chiefs are nominated by election, and for a period, but are sometimes hereditary. The most courageous, he who has taken the greatest number of scalps in war or has slain most bisons, the performer of some brilliant exploit or a man of superior eloquence, all these have the right to be chosen chiefs. As long as he conducts himself well a chief retains his position; if he incur the least blame his successor is appointed. Chiefs lead the tribes to battle, and are consulted on occasions of diffi- culty, as are also the old men. The braves are the lieutenants of the chiefs, and hold second command in war. There is no judge in the tribes, and each one administers justice for himself and applies the law at his own liking. " All these nations hunt and make war in the same manner, on horseback ; with spear, bow and arrows, in default of revolvers and muskets, and using a buckler as a defence against the enemy's blows. They scalp their dead foe and deck themselves with his locks ; pillage and destroy his property, carry away his women and children captives, and frequently subject the van- quished, above all any white man falling into their hands, to horrible tortures before putting him to death. " The squaws to whom the prisoner is abandoned exhibit the most revolting cruelty towards him, tearing out the eyes, tongue, and nails of their victim; burning him, chopping off a hand to- day, and a foot to-morrow. When the captive is well tortured, a coal fire is lighted on his stomach and a yelling dance per- formed round him. Almost all Eed Skins commit these atro- cities phlegmatically towards the Whites when engaged in a struggle with them. " Tribes often make war among themselves on the smallest pretext, for a herd of bisons they are pursuing, or a prairie where they wish to encamp alone. They have not indeed any place reserved, but they sometimes wish to keep one so, to the exclu- sion of every other occupant. Nor is it uncommon for the same tribe to split itself into two hostile clans. A few years ago the Ogallallas when maddened by whisky fought among themselves with guns, and have been broken up ever since into two bands, one of which, the ' Ugly-Faces/ is commanded by Red Cloud, and the other, by Big-Mouth and Pawnee-Killer. " The languages of all the tribes are distinct; but perhaps a linguist would recognize among them some common roots, in the Hosted by G00gle 215.— PAWNEE INDIANS. Hosted by Go Ogle 474 THE BED EACE. all obey the same grammatical mechanism ; they are ' aggluti- native/ or ' polysynthetic/ and not 'analytic ' or 'inflected/ that is to say, the words can be combined with each other to form a single word expressing a complete idea ; but relation, gender, number, etc., are not indicated by modifications of the substan- tive. I pass over the other characteristics which distinguish agglutinative from inflected languages. The dialects of the Red Skins have not, or seem not to have, any affinity in the different terms of their vocabulary, which is, besides, often very limited. " In order to comprehend each other the tribes have adopted by common accord a language of signs and gestures which approximates to that of the deaf and dumb. In this way all the Indians are capable of a mutual understanding, and a Yute, for instance, can converse without difficulty for several hours with an Arrapahoe, or the latter with a Sioux. " The Whites are not acquainted with the languages of the Prairie Indians, or know them very badly. Frequently, there is but one interpreter for the same tongue, often a very poor one, merely understanding the idiom he has translated, not speaking it. Many, a fortiori, are not able to write the language which they interpret. Neither Dr. Mathews, John Richard, nor Pierre Chene could spell for jaie in English characters the names of the Crow chiefs. How would it be in the case of the Arrapahoes or Apaches, whose strongly guttural speech is only accentuated by the tips of the lips ? " In all this it must be understood that I speak only of the tribes of the Prairies, and not of those who lived in olden times on the declivities of the mountains overlooking the Atlantic or skirt- ing the Mississippi. The majority, of the latter are, as is known, extinct, the AJgonquins, Hurons, Iroquois, Natchez and Mohi- cans, and it is also well to avow that France has contributed in a large measure to their disappearance. " The residue of these tribes, which I shall term Atlantic — Delawares, Cherokees, Seminoles, O sages, and Creeks — is now cantoned in the reserves, especially in the Indian Territory, where little by little . the Red Skins are losing their dis- tinctive characteristics. . Histories and authentic documents regarding all these races are extant, whilst only very little is known up to the present concerning those of the Prairies. Hosted by G00gle 216.— A CHAYENE (SHIBNNES) CHIWsted byGoOgle 476 . THE KED EACE. " It is towards a new territory analogous to the one just mentioned, and bordering upon it, that the Commissioners of the Union have recently pushed back the five great nations of the south ; while they intend to indicate a reserve of the same kind in the north of Dacota to the Crows and the Sioux, if they find them well disposed to accept it. " And then, people may say, what will become of the Indians ? For this is the question which every one asks when he hears the Eed Skins spoken of. If the Prairie tribes go into the reserves, the same will happen to them which has befallen those of the Atlantic borders ; little by little they will lose their customs, their wild habits ; they will yield insensibly to the sedentary and agricultural life, and, step by step — last phase, of which the first example remains to be seen — their country will pass from the rank of a territory to that of a state. Arrived at this final stage the Indian will be altogether blended with the White ; after a few generations he will not perhaps be more distinguishable from him than the Frank is discernible from the Gaul among us, or the Norman from the Saxon in England. " But if the Indian does not submit ; if he will not consent to be cantoned in the reserves ? Then must ensue a death-struggle between two races differing in colour and customs, a merciless war of which, unfortunately, so many examples have already been seen on the same American soil. Where are now the Hurons, Iroquois, and Natchez, who amazed our ancestors? The Algonquins, who had no limits to their territory, where and how many are they to-day ? All have gradually disappeared by disease or warfare. " The war which will break out this time will be short, and it will be final, for in it the Indian will finally sink. He has on his side neither science nor numbers. Undoubtedly, by his ambushes, by his flights, by his isolated and totally unforeseen attacks, he bewilders scientific warfare, and the most able strategists of the United States, with General Sherman at their head, have been beaten by the Indians, who have gained no small share of glory against the Whites. But the next war will be no longer one of regulars but of volunteers. The pioneers of the ter- ritories will arm themselves, and if the Eed man demands tooth for tooth, eye for eye, the Whites will inflict upon him the inflexible penalty of retaliation, and the Indian will disappear for ever.*' Hosted by G00gle -I'£" 217— A YCTE CHIEF. Hosted by GoOgk 478 THE EED RACE. various details concerning the remnants of the nearly extinct Atlantic tribes. The Choctaws, to the number of twenty-two thousand souls, are spread over the regions bordering on Arkansas on the east, the plains inhabited by the Chicksaws on the south, and those occu- pied by the Creeks on the west, while their neighbours to the north are the Cherokees. The vast plains which adjoin the Choctaw territories, are used for the pastimes of the Indians, and especially for their game of ball or tennis. The Choctaws, Chicksaws, Creeks, and Cherokees are passionately attached to this amusement. A challenge borne by two able performers usually gives rise to the festival, and having arranged the day for the contest, the players dispatch their heralds to all quarters. These emissaries are tattooed horsemen, accoutred in a fantastic style. Carrying a ceremonial racket, they repair from village to village and hut to hut, proclaiming throughout the entire tribe the names of the individuals who have proposed the match, and making known the day of the struggle and the place of meeting. As each of the actors is accompanied by his relatives, half the nation is often found assembled at the appointed locality on the eve of the solemn day, some to take part in the fray, and the others to bet upon the result. This game (fig. 218) is a tremendous tussle, a general scrimmage in which almost the whole tribe is engaged. Between the Canadian border and Arkansas, sprinkled with flourishing farms, is the fertile domain of the Creek Indians. It is not so long since the warriors there covered themselves with whimsical tattooing; but progress has to-day penetrated into these savannas, and these same Indians to-day read a newspaper printed in their language. Like the Choctaws, the Creeks formerly inhabited Alabama and Mississippi, which they ceded for a pecuniary consideration to the American government. Their numbers do not amount to more than twenty-two thousand. A similar estimate may be made of the Cherokees, who have abandoned New Georgia for higher Arkansas. Further off are the Shawnees, a nation which is reduced to about fourteen hundred members, and yet was once one of the most powerful in North America. They were the first to oppose resistance to the encroachments of civilization, and hunted from Hosted by G00gle 480 THE RED RACE. everywhere have strewn the bones of their warriors along their route. The Delawares, who have diminished to the insignificant total of eight hundred individuals, originally inhabited the eastern parts of the States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Their fate resembled that of the Shawnees ; being ever obliged to subdue new territories which they were afterwards compelled to yield to the government. Driven from the plains which con- tained the tombs of their forefathers, deceived and betrayed by the strangers, the Delaware Indians have repelled Christian missionaries. Placed at the extreme limits of civilization, on the very border of virgin nature, they devote themselves fearlessly to their adventurous propensities. They go to hunt the grizzly bear in California, the buffalo on the plains of Nebraska, the elk at the sources of the Yellowstone, and the mustang in Texas, scalping a few crowns on their way. A Delaware only requires to see a piece of land once, in order to be able to recognize it after the lapse of years, no matter from what side he may approach it; and wherever he sets his. foot for the first time, a glance suffices to enable him to discover the spot where water should be sought for. These Indians are admirable guides, and on their services, which cannot be too dearly paid for, the existence of a whole caravan often depends. Comanches. — The great and valiant nation of the Comanche Indians, which is divided into three tribes, overruns in every direction the vast expanse of the Prairies : outside those green savannahs they would be unable to live. Those of the north and of the centre are ever hunting the buffalo, and the flesh of that animal constitutes almost their sole sustenance. From the most tender childhood till advanced age they are in the saddle, and a whip and bridle render the Comanche the most expert, agile, and independent of men. They gallop in thousands over the Prairies hanging to the sides of their steeds, and directing their arrows and spears with marvellous skill at their mark. They plume themselves on being robbers, attack the establish- ments of the Whites, lead men, women, and children away prisoners, and carry off the cattle. Fig. 219 represents two Comanche Indians ; fig. 220, one of their encampments, and fig. 221, a buffalo hunt among the same tribe. Hosted by G00gk 5w Mexico, including many tribes, several of which are not en known by name. The Navajoes belong to this group. They are the only 219. — COMANCHE INDIANS. Hans of New Mexico who keep large flocks of sheep and :sue a pastoral life. They know how to weave the wool of ir flocks, of which they manufacture thick blankets fit to opete with the productions of the wes%s'eiwistis&|gUbright OUrS lllto tllASA nicrs in a wav +1-»o+ imnnrfo */\ +liom a vomr utmosi care, ana nave inicx soies anu a pomieu euu, suapeu i a beak, a necessary precaution against the thorny cactus pla with which the soil bristles. Their head-gear consists of a leatl* cap in the form of a helmet, adorned by a bunch of cod 220. — 4 COMAXCHE CAMP. eagle's, or vulture's feathers. In addition to bows and arro they carry long lances which they handle very skilfully as £ dash along on their fleet steeds. In the last rank of the Apache natiotr^^ffcPgte placed ^r Ai_, ynr_ • „ ,i T7«, 4- V*T ^\^T1 «■-■» oatto rta c 5 484 THE RED RACE. establish any relations, and who are natives of the mountains of San Francisco. Cedar-berries, the fruit of a species of pine-tree, and the grass and root of a Mexican plant, constitute their means of subsistence, for they are wretched hunters. Within sight of the Eio Colorado M. Mollhausen encountered some Indians belonging to the three tribes of the Chimehwebs, Cutchanas and Pah- Utahs, who bear a resemblance to each other* Their complexion was dark in colour, their faces striped with bistre, and their black hair hung down their backs in locks which were confined with wet clay. They were of fine stature, and perfectly naked but for a waistband. They bounded forward like deer to meet the travellers, and their expression of comitenance was frank, kind, and merry. Their women on the contrary were small, thickset, and clumsy, but their large black eyes and pleasant manners gave them a certain charm. The travellers also fell in with the Mohawk Indians (fig. 222), men of herculean forms who were tattooed from the roots of the hair to the sole of the foot in blue, red, white and yellow, and with eyes that glowed like coals under this layer of paint. Most of them wore vulture's, magpie's, or swan's feathers on the top of their heads, and carried large bows and spears in their hands. Mr. Catlin made numerous excursions among the Indian tribes of the plains of Columbia and Upper Missouri, and we shall quote presently his remarks concerning the Nayas and Flat-Heads. Both these nations dwell to the west of the Rocky Moun- tains, occupying all the country situated round Lower Columbia and Vancouver's Island. The latter tribe derives its name from the singular custom which exists among them of flatten- ing their children's heads at their birth. The Flat-Heads (fig. 223) live in a region where very little in the way of food is to be found except fish, and their lives are spent in canoes. The artificial deformity which constitutes the national characteristic is to be found more especially among the women, with whom it is almost universal; but it is only a question of fashion, and does not appear to have any perceptible effect on the functions of the organs, for persons whose heads have been compressed seem as intelligent as those who have not undergone this strange operation. Hosted by G00gle In the course of the year 1853 I found myself on board the 222,— MOHAWK INDIANS. Hosted by UOOQ I llv Anne, a little vessel flvincr the star-snanffled flaff. which hav- / Google 486 THE BED RACK and Eussian America, was on her way to land in British Columbia several passengers who had been attracted thither by the reputation of the auriferous deposits newly discovered in that country. " On the third day from our entry into Queen Charlotte's Sound, the long and magnificent strait separating Vancouver's Island from the continent, we got into the long-boat to go on shore, and arrived at the village of the Nayas. The Indians had been informed of our visit and were all assembled in their huts ; the chief, a very dignified man, being seated in his wigwam, with lighted pipe, ready to receive us. We squatted ourselves on mats spread upon the ground, and whilst the pipe was being passed round — this is the first ceremony on such occasions — hundreds of native dogs — half wolves, — which had followed in our track, completely invaded the approaches to the wigwam, barking and howling in the shrillest and most mournful manner. The sentinel whom the chief had stationed at the door to prevent anyone entering without permission, dis- charged an arrow at the leader of the band, piercing him to the heart, a proceeding which calmed the rest of the pack, which was then dispersed with many blows of oars by the Indian women. We were not a little embarrassed at having no other way of ex- pressing our thoughts than by signs, yet we seemed to under- stand each other perfectly, and we gathered that the chief had sent to a village at no great distance in search of an inter- preter who ought very soon to arrive. I recommended my companions not to breathe a word before his arrival as to our object in visiting the locality, and in the meantime did not myself lose an instant in endeavouring to rouse the interest of our hosts. " I motioned to Caesar to bring me the portfolio, and having seated myself beside the chief, opened it before him, while I gave an explanation of each portrait ; he expressed no great surprise, and jet took an evident pleasure in examining them. I showed him several chiefs of the Amazons, as well as others of the Sioux, O sages, and Pawnees. The last likeness was a full-length one of Caesar, on seeing which he could not restrain himself from bursting into the most tremendous fits of laughter, and turning towards the subject of it who was sitting opposite, signed to him to approach, gave him a grasp of the hand and made him Hosted by G00gle 223.— FLAT-HEAD INDIANS. Hosted by G00gle 488 THE RED RACE. to see theni, and the chiefs wife and their young daughter came close to us for the same purpose. " One detail of their toilette attracted Caesar's attention : a man had a round slip of wood inserted in his under lip and the chiefs daughter also carried a similar ornament. Like Csesar, my companions were ignorant of this strange and incredible custom, and contemplated the Indians thus adorned, with the utmost astonishment. " The chiefs daughter wore a magnificent mantle of mountain- sheep's wool and wild-dog's hair, marvellously interwoven with handsome colours in the most intricate and curious patterns, and bordered all round with a fringe eighteen inches deep. The making of this robe had occupied three women during a year, and its value was that of five horses. The bowl of the pipe which the chief passed round, was of hard clay, black as jet and highly polished, and both it and the stem were embellished with sketches of men and animals carved in the most ingenious manner. I have seen several of these pipes, and have had many in my possession, with their eccentric designs representing the garments, canoes, oars, gaiters, and even the full-length likenesses of their owners. These designs of the Nayas are different from all those we saw among the other tribes of the conti- nent. The same ornaments are found on their spoons, vases and clubs ; on their earthenware, of which the3r make a great quantity ; and on everything else manufactured by them. Up to the present these figures are inexplicable hieroglyphics to us, but they possess great interest for archeologists and etymologists. " I did not find in this Nay a Chief the same superstitious dread which the Indians of the Amazon and of other parts in the south of America evinced when I asked them to have their portraits taken; on the contrary he said of his own accord to me: ' If you think any of us worthy of the honour, or handsome enough to be painted, we are ready ! ' I thanked him ; Caesar went for my box of colours and my easel, and I began his likeness and that of his daughter, for he had told me how much he loved this child, add- ing that it «was his rule to have her almost always with him, and that he thought I should do well to draw them together, both on the same canvas. I agreed to his request, telling him at the same time how much I appreciated such natural and noble feel- ings on his part. Hosted by G00gle v&> cgx^-i 224. — >AYA INDIANS. Hosted by G00gle 490 THE RED RACE. themselves to the steps of Csesar as he inarched solemnly along, his tall figure drawn up to its full height, and with the portfolio on his back. So large were the numbers for so small a village, that I asked the interpreter to explain what this signified. He told me that the news of our arrival and the attraction of the dance which was sure to take place in the evening had drawn and would still draw a vast concourse of Indians from the adjoining districts. At sunset we partook of a meal of venison in the chief 's wigwam, and afterwards set ourselves to smoke until night came on. Then in the midst of dreadful yelling, barking, and singing, we saw about a dozen flaming torches approaching the hut in front of which the dance of masks now began. Grotesque is an imperfect word to convey an idea of the incredible eccentricities and buffoonery that took place before us, and Csesar was seized with such a fit of laughing as to be almost choked. Picture to yourself, fifteen or twenty individuals, all full-grown men, masked or tricked out in the most extraordinary guise, wrhile many spectators, placed in the first rank, were costumed in similar style. A great medicine man was the conductor of the revels and the most whimsical of all. He represented the ' King of the Bustards/ another was ' Monarch of the Divers/ a third, ' Doctor of the Babbits ; ' and there were also the ' Brother to the Devil/ the < Thunder-Maker/ the ' White Book/ the ' Night-travelling Bear/ the ' Soul of the Caribout/ and so on, until the names of every animal and every bird were entirely exhausted. The dancers' masks, of which I procured several, are very ingeniously made. They are cleverly hollowed from a solid block of wood in such a way as to fit the face, and are held inside by a cross-strap which is taken between the teeth, thus enabling the voice to be counterfeited and dis- guised ; they are covered, moreover, with odd patterns in various colours. With the exception of that of the leader of the dance, all these masks had a round piece of wood in the under lip, to recall the singular custom which exists in the country. Enter- tainments of this description are not confined to the Na}ras, for I have witnessed similar recreations in many other tribes in North as well as South America. " They also slit the cartilages and lobes of their ears, lengthen them, and insert little billets as ornaments. Those in the lip are principally worn by the women, though some of the men Hosted by G00gle 225.— A CROW CHIEF. Hosted by G00gle 492 THE RED RACE. The same may be said of the masks, which are to be found as far as among the Aloutis. All the women have not the lip pierced, and those who have do not carry the wooden ornament except on certain occasions, at settled periods, when they don full dress. They remove it when eating and sleeping or if they have to talk much, for there are plenty of words which cannot be pronounced with this inconvenient trinket. " The lip is perforated at the earliest age, and the aperture thus formed, though almost imperceptible at first when the 'barbote' is taken out, is kept open and grows larger daily." The same traveller had the pleasure of again meeting the Crows, but as we have already spoken of the Indians of this tribe, we shall content ourselves with reproducing here his very picturesque costume of one of their chiefs (fig. 225). Mr. Catlin twice visited the Mandan Indians in the course of the summer of 1832. The solitary village in which they were collected, to the number of two or three thousand, was on the left bank of the Missouri, at a distance of about 1400 miles from the city of St. Louis. Of medium stature, and comfortably clad in skins, all wore leathern leggings and mocassins elegantly embroidered with porcupine silk dyed in various colours. Each man had his tunic and his mantle which he assumed or laid aside according to the temperature, and every woman her robe of deer or antelope skin. Many among them had a very fair skin, and their hair, which was silvery gray from childhood to old age, their light blue eyes and oval faces, doubtless testified to an infusion of white blood. Almost all the men adopted a curious fashion, peculiar to this tribe ; then1 hair, long enough to reach the calf of their legs, was divided into matted locks, flattened and separated by hardened birdlime or by red or yellow clay. Noeth-Western Family. The Indian tribes composing the North-Western family of the North American Branch, are less warlike and cruel than those of the east. They take no scalps. Their stature is not so tall, their face broader, their e}^es more sunken, and their complexion browner. M. d'Omalius d'Halloy cites in this group the Koliouges Hosted by G00gle NORTHERN BRANCH. 493 (from 60° to 50° N. lat.), the Wakisches or Nootkans (Island of Nootka and neighbouring coasts), the Chinooks (mouth of the Oregon), and the Tularenos, or Indians of California. A detailed description of these different American tribes would be devoid of interest ; in fact, we should be only able to repeat with but little alteration what has been said in previous pages concerning the manners, habits, customs, &c, of the last remain- ing savages who still people the interior of the North American forests. In connection with the aboriginal inhabitants of California, we must direct the reader's attention to the fact, that the Califor- nia^ have a skin of such a deep reddish-brown that it seems black. This colour is certainly exceptional among the primitive inhabitants of America, but the characteristic is so pronounced in the present instance, that we felt that we could not avoid pointing it out, although it may be opposed to the classification which we have adopted, placing in the Eed Eace all members of the human family proper to America. This exception is one of the inconveniences of classification to which we must submit, without however endeavouring to conceal it. Hosted by G00gle THE BLACK RACE. The Black Race, as considered in the various peoples consti- tuting its type, is distinguished by its short and woolly hair, com- pressed skull, flattened nose, prominent jaws, thick lips, bowed legs, and black or dark brown skin. Its members are confined to the central and southern regions of Africa and the southern parts of Asia and Oceania. The blacks found in America are the descendants of African slaves transported into the New World by Europeans. The peoples belonging to the Black Race present great variations. Some have the type altogether peculiar to the Race we have just characterized, while others show a tendency to approach the Yellow and the White Races. The inhabitants of Guinea and Congo are quite black, but the Caffres are only ex- cessively brown and resemble Abyssinians. The Hottentots and Bushmen are yellowish, like the Chinese, though at the same time possessing the features and physiognomy of the Negro. As striking varieties are, therefore, observable in the Black Race as in the White, and a rigorous classification of it is consequently very difficult to establish ; but as we coincide in that which has been suggested by M. d'Omalius d'Halloy, we shall separate the Black Race into two divisions, the Western and the Eastern Branches. Hosted by G00gle CHAPTER L WESTERN BRANCH. We shall notice three families in the Western Branch of the Black Race, those of the Caflres, Hottentots, and Negroes. These general groups comprise an immense number of tribes, many of them still unknown, constituting a population of about fifty- two millions. Caffre Family. The Caflres who inhabit the south-east of Africa form, so to speak, the stepping-stone or intermedium between the brown and the black nations. Their hair is woolly, but their com- plexion is not so dark nor their nose so flat as those of a Negro. Possessing more aptitude for civilization than the other black races, they are associated together in large communities, each of which obeys a chief, and though half wandering in their habits, occupy some very populous towns, of considerable extent, and resembling vast camps. Their clothing is very scanty, being reduced in the men's case almost to a cloak, whilst the women are better covered in leathern garments. The Caflres have great herds of cattle and devote themselves to agriculture. They cultivate maize, millet, beans and water- melons ; make bread and beer, and manufacture earthenware, are able to utilize metals, employ iron and copper, and know how to turn both into tools and ornaments. They believe in a Supreme Being as well as in the immortality of the soul, but pervert their religious sentiments by divers superstitions. The various tribes of this great family possess physical charac- teristics in common which are not to be found in other African nations. Caflres are far taller and stronger ; they have well- Hosted by Go ogle elevated forehead and the projecting nose of the European wi the thick lips of the Negro, and the high prominent cheekbon of the Hottentot. Their language is sonorous, sweet, and ha monious, with a rumbling in its pronunciation. 226.— A CAPFRE. We class with this family : 1. The Southern Caflres, who include the Amakisas, Am; thymbas, or Tamboukis, Amapendas, and other tribes ; 2. The Amazulas, Vatwas, and some other warlike wanderir hordes who have lately advanced southward into the interior ; 8. The inhabitants of Delagoa Bay, who bear a closer resen blance to the Negroes ; 4. The Bechuanas and all the nunogj^Ctfri^te situate towards the north and in the interior, sneaking a lanemao-e < )ups. The traveller Livingstone, who made a long stay in >ir country, has given excellent descriptions of them in his Expedition to the Zambesi/ ' They have made progress in g and civilization, inhabit large towns, have well-built houses, 227.— NATIVE OF THE MOZAMBIQUE COAST. I the soil, and know how to preserve one year's crop until the xt. Their features tend towards an approach to those of iropeans. In the region of the Tammahas, not far from Marhow, a town ten thousand inhabitants, fields of corn several hundred acres extent, testify to a rather forward state of agriculture and lustry. The Maratsi cultivate sugar and tobacco, make knives and sors, construct their houses in masonry, afi#dbfiftfiiil them V\\ 1T\*lTwn will, but upon some hidden influence which directs every- hing, and which it is necessary to render favourable to them, lence the magicians and soothsayers whose duty it is to avert vil fate or hurtful destinies, and hence aJba b|s&)^Wculable luantitv of fetishps. Kar^h Npcrro has his own. to which he 512 THE BLACK RACE. which he abandons the moment he recognizes its uselessness. Lamentable effect of the natural degradation of these races ! The sad defects of the Negro in his savage state should not cause his aptitudes to be forgotten. When he has been snatched from tribe life, or freed from the chains that weighed him down, the black manifests qualities which deserve to be brought into relief. Let us remark firstly, that the Negroes, or the mulattoes result- ing from their union with the whites, are often gifted with an extraordinary memory which gives them a great facility for ac- quiring languages. They are not slow to appropriate the lan- guage of the people amidst whom they are placed. They speak English in North America, Spanish in the Central and Southern parts of the New World, and Dutch at the Cape of Good Hope. They can even change their tongue with their masters. If a Dutch Negro enters the service of an Englishman, he will abandon his former idiom for that of the latter, and will forget his old mode of speech. Nay more, their memory sometimes retains widely diverse languages at the same time. Travellers have met negro traders in the centre of Africa, having connections with different nations, who expressed themselves in several tongues, and understood both Arabic and Koptic as well as Turkish. The towns inhabited by the Negroes resemble European cities sometimes so much as to be mistaken for them ; there is only a difference of degree in their civilization and knowledge when com- pared with those of Europe. Towns, properly so called, in the interior of Africa are however very much scattered, but travellers bring to light fresh information concerning the country every day, and the future will perhaps reveal to us particulars about the civilization of Central Africa, of which we have as yet hardly a suspicion. Negroes are not bad accountants ; they calculate mentally with great rapidity, far surpassing Europeans in this respect. The industrial arts are pursued with some success by many black tribes. Iron can be extracted from its ores easily enough to admit of the trades of founders and blacksmiths being carried on in every Negro village, and some excellent handicrafts- men in both these callings are to be found in Senegambia and several of the interior regions. Hosted by G00gle 514 THE BLACK EACE. Fermented drinks, such as beer, sorgho wine, &c, are also manufactured with considerable skill. Negroes possess the talent of imitation to a very remarkable extent. They seize hold of and are able faithfully to mimic a person's particular characteristics or behaviour if they show any ludicrous peculiarities. Negro humour is also generally gay and pleasant. They like to laugh at their masters and overseers, the children of the house, &c, and delight in making themselves merry at their expense. Yet this imitative faculty inherent to blacks, does not go so far as to endow them with any artistic talents. Drawing, painting, and sculpture are unknown to Negroes, and it is impossible to infuse into them the smallest capacity for such subjects, either by lesson or advice. Their temples and dwellings are, in fact, only deco- rated with shapeless scratches ; Africans of the present day are utterly unskilled in drawing and sculpture. Negroes, if thus obtuse to the plastic arts, are on the contrary very easily affected by music and poetry. They sing odd and expressive recitatives at their festivals and sports, and in some Negro kingdoms a caste of singers is even to be met with, which is alleged to be hereditary, and whose members are also at the same time the chroniclers of the tribe. Musical instruments are rather plentiful among the Africans. In addition to the drum, which holds so prominent a place in the music of the Arabs, they use flutes, triangles, bells, and even stringed instruments, with from eight to seventeen strings, the latter being supplied from the tail of the elephant. They also possess instruments fashioned from the rind of cucumbers, forming a sort of rude harp. The Mandigoes who live on the banks of the Senegal, about the middle of its course, have a species of clarionet, from four to five yards long. " The Negroes," says Livingstone, in his " Expedition to the Zambesi/ ' " have had their minstrels ; they have them still, but tradition does not preserve their effusions. One of these, appa- rently a genuine poet, attached himself to our party for several days, and, whenever we halted, sang our praises to the villagers In smooth and harmonious numbers. His chant was a sort of blank verse, and each line consisted of five syllables. The song was short when it first began, but each day he picked up more information about us, and added to the poem, until our praises Hosted by G00gle >me compelled him to return, he expressed his regret at leaving , and was, of course, paid for his useful and pleasant flatteries, aother, though less gifted son of Apollo, belonged to our own xty. Every evening, while the others were cooking, talking, or seping, he rehearsed his songs, which contained a history of 233.— A ZAMBESI NEGRESS. erything he had noticed among the white men, and on the urney. In composing, extempore, any new piece, he was never a loss ; for, if the right word did not come, he didn't hesitate, it eked out the measure with a peculiar musical sound, mean- s' nothing at all. He accompanied his recitations on the mu$a9 instrument held in the fingers, whilst its nine fteir keys are essed with the thumbs. Persons of a musical turn, too noor to 516 THE BLACK KACE. of a number of thick sorgho-stalks sewn together, and with keys of split bamboo. This makeshift emits but little sound, but seems to charm the player himself. When the sausa is played with a calabash as a sounding board, it produces a greater volume of sound. Pieces of shell and tin are added to make a jingling accompaniment, and the calabash is profusely orna- mented.' ' The music of the Negroes is not confined, it may be remarked, to simple melody. They are not satisfied with merely playing the notes sung by the roice, but have r'some principles of harmony. They perform accompaniments in fourths, sixths, and octaves, the other musical intervals being less familiar to them, except when sometimes employed to express irony or censure. The advanced state of music amidst the Negro tribes is all the more noticeable from the fact that among ancient European races, among the ancient Greeks, at the most brilliant epoch of their history, for instance, no idea whatever prevailed of harmony in music. The faculties of the blacks can consequently in certain respects become developed, and it is established that Negroes who live for several generations in the towns of the colonies, and who are in perpetual contact with Europeans, improve by the connection, and gain an augmentation of their intellectual capacities. To sum up, then, the Negro family possesses less intelligence than some others of the human race ; but this fact affords no justification for the hateful persecutions to which these unfor- tunate people have been the victims in every age. At the present day, thanks to progress and civilization, slavery is abolished in most parts of the globe, and its last remnants will not be slow to disappear. And thus Will be swept away, to the honour of humanity, a^barbarous custom, the unhappy inherit- ance of former times, repudiated by the modern spirit of charity and brotherhood; and with it will vanish the infamous traffic which is called the slave-trade. No little time will, however, be needed in order to confer social equality on the enfranchised Negro. We cannot well express the scorn with which the liberated blacks are treated in North and South America. They are hardly looked on as human beings, and notwithstanding the abolition of slavery, are in- variably kept aloof from the white population. Centuries will Hosted by G00gle WESTERS BRANCH. 517 be required to efface among Americans this rooted prejudice, which France herself has had some trouble in shaking off, since an edict of Louis XIV. cancelled the rank of any noble who allied himself with a Negress, or even with a mulatto woman. The general assuagement of manners and customs will ulti- mately, it must be hoped, entirely obliterate these distinctions, so cruel and unjust to the unhappy people whom a fatal destiny has condemned to a state of perpetual martyrdom, without their having done anything to deserve it, beyond coming into the world beneath an African sky. ^ h! Hosted by G00gle CHAPTER H. EASTEEN BRANCH. The Eastern Blacks, who have also been called Melanesians and Oceanian Negroes, inhabit the western part of Oceania and the south-east of Asia. Their complexion is very brown, some- times increasing in darkness until it reaches intense black* Their hair is frizzled, crisp, flaky, and occasionally woolly. Their features are disagreeble, their figures of little regularity, and their extremities often lank. They live in tribes or small divisions, without forming themselves into nationalities. We shall divide them into two groups, one, the Papuan Family, composed of peoples among whom the characteristics indicated above, are the most developed ; the other, the Anda- man Family, made up of tribes which more resemble the Brown Race, and probably result from a mixture of it with the Black one. Papuan Family. The Papuan Family seems to dwell only in small islands or on the coasts of larger ones. Two groups of peoples are observable in it, one, resembling the Malays, consists of the Papuans, who inhabit the New Guinea Archipelago, and the other, resem- bling the Tabuans, occupies the Fiji Islands, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and the Solomon range. "We proceed to say a few words as to the manners and customs of these different sections of the Black Race. Papuans. — A remarkable feature presented by the Papuans, is the ienormous bulk of their half-woolly hair. Their skin is dark brown, their hair black, and their beard, which is Hosted by G00gle i Hosted by Google & St? . I: Hosted by GoOgle - u "/ii I THE BLACK RACE. 519 scanty, is, as well as their eyebrows and eyes, of the same colour. Though they have rather flat noses, thick lips and broad cheek- bones, their countenance is by no means unpleasant. The women are more ugly than the men, their withered figures, hanging breasts, and masculine features render them disagreea- ble to the sight, and even the young girls have a far from attractive look. Lesson considered the Papuans fierce, inhospitable, crafty men, but the inhabitants of Havre cle Doresy and generally of the northern part of this Oceanic region, as far as the Cape of Good Hope, seemed to him of great mildness and more disposed to fly from Europeans than to hurt them. He thinks, nevertheless, that the Negroes in the south of New Guinea, pushed back into that part of the island, and whom no inter- mixture has altered, have preserved their savage habits and rude independence. The state of perpetual hostility in which they live renders their character distrustful and suspicious. Never did Lesson visit a village, in a small boat manned by a fair number of men, that women, children, old men, and warriors did not take to flight in their large canoes, carrying off with them their movables and most precious effects. He adds, that by good treatment and plenty of presents, people may succeed in making way with them, may be able to lull their uneasiness and establish friendly relations. The coloured Plate accompanying this part of the work represents a native of the Papuan Islands. Vitians. — The first accurate information about the Viti or Fiji Islands is due to Dumont d'Urville. Mr. Macdonald, an assistant-surgeon on board the English ship Herald, has pub- lished an account of his visit to Fiji, and from it we extract the following particulars. Thakombau (fig. 234), the king, was a man of powerful and almost gigantic stature, with well-formed limbs of fine propor- tions. His appearance, which was further removed from the Negro type than that of other individuals of lower rank, sprung from the same stock, was agreeable and intelligent. His hair was carefully turned up, dressed in accordance with the stylish fashion of the country, and covered with a sort of brown gauze. His neck and broad chest wrere both un- Hosted by G00gle colour. Near him was liis favourite wife, a rather large woma with smiling features, as well as his son and heir, a fine child < from eight to nine years old. His majesty was also surrounde 234. — THAKOMBAU, KING OF THE FIJI ISLAND. at respectful distance hy a crowd of courtiers, humbly cringin; on their knees. In the course of his peregrinations, Mr. Macdonald was presen at a repast, consisting of pork, ignames, and^taro *T served ii at a repast, consisting of pork, ignames, an&Aaro*. served ii wooden dishes by women. Freshwater shHeTl-M°o?Sffie cyprin he meat insipid. During the conversation which followed, the raveller became convinced that gossip is a natural gift of the rijians. Figs. 235 and 236 represent types of these people. The Fijians are fond of assembling to hear the local news, 235.— XATIVE OF FIJI. >r to narrate old legends. Eespect for their chiefs is always reserved unalterable among this people, turbulent in their >ehaviour, depraved in their instincts, and familiar with murder, obbery, and lying. The homage paid to their chiefs makes tself manifest both by word and actionitedn@t)(ig^r their weapons, take the worst sides of the paths, and bow numbly as which every inferior who sees his chief trip and fall, allows himself to stumble in his turn, in order to attract towards himsel: the ridicule which such an accident might have the effect o: drawing upon his superior. The different classes or castes into which the Fijian populatior 230,— NATIVE OF FIJI. is divided, are as follows : 1, sovereigns of several islands 2, chiefs of single islands, or of districts ; 3, village chiefs, an< those of fisheries ; 4, eminent warriors, but bom in an inferio station, master carpenters, and heads of turtle-fisheries ; 5, th common people ; and 6, slaves taken in war. The horrible custom of eating human fl^ahbpGlbei^bts in Fiji t.Vip micrftinnnriPQ Tiqvp en nnppflpfl in hrincnncf aboil t its disatmeai j o o j — o Cannibalism does not owe its number of victims devoured! Bxistence among the Fijians, as in most savage tribes, to a feeling ;>f revenge pushed to the utmost limits ; it arises there from an 237. — A TEMPLE OF CANNIBALISM. special craving for human flesh. But as this choice dish is not ufficiently abundant to satisfy all appetites, the chiefs reserve it xclusively to themselves, and only by extraordiSw^